The War Less Known
by thebladeofchaos
Summary: I've heard of losing yourself to fantasy...but I didn't expect it to actually happen. Hell is but a word, and in a world where your family and your friends are put to the test on a daily basis. In a world where hell is your average day, where do you turn? How much do you have to sacrifice in order to survive?
1. Getting lost in a good book

Right, hello, back with another story.

This has been going around my head for a while since finishing the game. Epic storyline with good gameplay. But enough with the adverts

This isn't your standard 'sucked into a game' fic. This is a 'sucked into a book within a game' fic if you get what I mean.

Anyway, moving on…

By the way, the way the 'book' starts in game most likely won't match up here, as I don't want to watch one scene 15 times just to get the full title of the empire.

* * *

Prologue

Getting lost in a good book

_People always say 'you can get drawn into another world with a book'_

_I didn't realise they were serious._

Picture the scene: you're helping your brother empty the loft of heavy boxes.

Not much to imagine but that's my current situation. My older brother, James, decided that the loft needed clearing out for some reason…and I got stuck with the job of moving the furthest distance. And these boxes were heavy. I got one such box, carried it off out stepladder, walked into the spare room and fell over, hurting my arm as I hit the ground.

"What was that Craig?" James asked.

"Don't worry, just dropped a box" I answered, getting up and dusting myself off, putting my MP3 back on. "How many more are there up there?"

"That was the last one" he replied. I could hear his footstep up there on the…ceiling. "Just having one last look"

"Ok, be careful"

You know, maybe I should start filling you in. the name's Craig Appleby. I'm a 16 year old boy living in England. I have brown curly (annoyingly) hair and am very tall. Right now, I'm wearing 2 stone bracelets and a pentagram necklace, along with the aforementioned MP3. Clothes wise, I'm wearing Jeans, a black tee-shirt and a leather jacket.

My brother, James, is a 20 year old Jack of all trades with dreams of being an engineer. He has neater black hair and is a little shorter then me. He is currently wearing jeans with a brown shirt.

Both of us are wearing our shoes (My brown boots (don't ask) to his white trainers) to work up there. Finally, after waiting for an age, James reappears, swinging down onto the ladder and closing up the loft. As he turns I noticed something in his hand. A book of some sort.

"Where's you find that?" I asked him. He looked at the book, passing it to me.

"No clue, I thought you'd recognise it" he replied.

I examined the book, holding the book gently. It was an old leather bound book…how do I know? Well, the leather was breaking; the spine was nearly gone; the pages were yellowed and, on the front page, the title and picture was blurred.

"Looks like…'On the Gallian front' by an Irene Koller. 'Based on true events'" I told him, closing the book and passing it back.

"Ever heard of the Gallian front?" he asked, flicking through a few pages.

"Ever heard of Gallia? Outside of games of course" after saying that, I realised that he probably never even looked at the radiant saga of the Fire emblem games (PoR and RD) he shook his head. "Then you know the answer as to the question"

"You could've just said no"

"Technically I could've said yes, as the Gallian front could be referring to Gallia in Fire emblem"

"You know what I mean"

He walked off in a moan, leaving me to pack up the ladder, move the stuff we found to a better spot and root through it for the ladder fixer stuff (James' weight, dispite being lighter then me, had somehow dented it, and I needed to undent it).

"Hey James! Where'd you leave the hammer!?" I shouted down, hearing nothing apart from heavy rain. "James!" still nothing. I dropped what I was doing (dropping the hammer on my foot might I add. Thank god these boots were tough) I walked down the stairs, hearing nothing apart from the rain.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, alerting me to someone at the front door. I looked outside, seeing someone in an old overcoat, brown and with tears in it. I couldn't see the face of this stranger, I just knew that whoever this was wanted to see us.

I grabbed a leather jacket, walking out the door towards the front door (our front door has too much junk in the way to be used really). I looked at the stranger, somehow smiling in the rain.

"May I help you?" I told this person. The figure turned to me, and I made out that it was an old woman, her hair grey and covering her face. I could only just make out brown eyes.

"I'm looking for a Craig Appleby" she told me, her voice sounded weak.

"You're looking at him" I replied, my hair now officially soaked. She stepped up to me, putting a withered hand on my face. I chose not to stop her out of respect for the elderly. She moved her hand over my skin, getting a good feel for my face.I would have stoppedher, but respect for the elderly topped me

"You haven't changed from how I remember you all those years ago" huh.

"Excuse me?" I replied, backing up. "I don't think I've ever met you before"

"Oh…then I guess I have the wrong person…"

"Not being rude, but maybe you have the wrong decade; I was born 16 years ago"

"My apologies then…I just thought that I had found…an old friend"

"Sorry to ruin your hopes Miss…"

"It's alright…I mainly thought it due to your builds"

"Builds?"

"He was built as a shock trooper as well"

"Shock trooper?"

"Goodbye, Craig"

The old lady walked away slowly, the rain pouring down her coat. I watched her, wondering what she meant. She stopped just beyond my hedge, looking at me.

"This makes me wonder who that 'James' was" she told me.

"James? What's he got to do with this?"

"James was Craig's brother…he was a wise one, caring too, if a bit big headed and bossy"

"What are you on about? Where did…'we' meet?"

"Ever heard of the country of Gallia?"

She then walked off in the rain, leaving me gob smacked and wondering what she was on about. I looked at the door, seeing a small package leaning against it. I picked it up, seeing a note attached to it. I wandered back into the house, leaving the package on the worktop and reading the note.

_Read carefully, as this note could save your life._

_In Gallia…no, in Europa, where Gallia and other countries exist, just about everything relies on Ragnite._

_Lights, tanks, cars, mortar rounds, medicine, anything. Powered, fuelled, propelled by Ragnite._

_Good luck._

What the hell is that supposed to mean? I screw the note up, dropping it and kicking it into the bin. That was a waste of time, this is England in Europe, not Gallia in Europa…hell where is Europa?

I looked into the conservatory, seeing the back door wide open. I walked over there; closing the door and seeing the book open on the table. James had it, so why isn't he putting it somewhere good. Well, seeing as though he isn't reading it…I sat down on a chair, holding the book carefully in my hands and reading the text.

_The year was 1935 EC. The continent of Europa was divided mainly between two super powers._

_A loosely allied group of nations in the west formed the Federation._

_While the Empire was the super power in the east._

_These two groups, along with the rest of the world, relied on a precious mineral, known as Ragnite, for their survival._

_As such, the empire launched an attack on the federation, winning battle after battle, taking town after town._

_This resulted in the beginning of the 2__nd__ Europan war (2EW). Even with most of its army busy fighting the Federation, the greedy eye of the Empire turned its gaze away from the Federation._

_It turned upon Gallia, a peaceful principality by the sea. Beneath its soil lay vast amounts of Ragnite, as yet untapped. It stood a stance of Neutrality, with no proper standing army. Instead, every civilian took a year in military education._

_This tale of war, of love, of despair and of courage begins in the border town of Bruhl, where five young men and women are starting their tale in this war._

_Welkin Gunther, James Appleby, Alicia Malchiot, Isara Gunther and Craig Appleby._

Hang on, why is my name in there? As I started thinking about the book, which still looked like a normal book, it suddenly set ablaze with blue fire. I dropped the book, standing up and backing away suddenly, the book still burning. Somehow, it was cold, and the book didn't burn at all.

"Ok, now I'm starting to think I'm crazy" I say to myself, scratching my neck. "This has gotta be some cheap trick" I reach over to grab the book, this time touching it and finding no feeling to the flames. "Easy"

Well, that's what I thought. Suddenly the flames jump up my arm, spreading throughout my gloving and my skin. I try to wave it off, even doing the old 'stop drop and roll' with nothing happen. I stand back up, looking at the flames, panic setting in.

"What the hell is going on!?" I shout, the flames building up and getting brighter and brighter until it was a white light. This was too much to see in. I covered my eyes to avoid being blinded. I didn't know what the hell was going on, but I didn't like one bit.

And then, was James alright?

_Since then that one question has appeared in my head just about every day._

_Is James alright?_

_We're brothers; I have to keep him safe as he'll do the same for me_

_If I had known what would've have happened if I read that book…well, I might not have read it._

_Then again, I always wanted an adventure._

* * *

Prologue down. Next up I might have some people OOC, but I'll try not to, ok.

It's just Welkin and his animal interested nature does throw me off sometimes.


	2. Bruhl outskirts

Chapter 1:

Bruhl outskirts

_When something strange happens, you don't expect the norm._

_Then again, the norm here was different to our norm._

When the light faded, I found I was on the ground, looking upwards. It was a beautiful clear sky compared to the cloudy rainy one I had before. I sat up, looking around.

Ok, apparently I'm sat on some grass in the middle of a field…well, more meadow…either way. There is a dirt road nearby, next to a river. A stone bridge was nearby along with a windmill and plenty of fencing. The road had loads of people walking along it. Every one of them carrying bags of what I presume are clothes. None of them look happy.

"What's with the travellers?" I asked myself, standing up and scratching my back. I looked down the path, seeing more of them. "More of an exodus I guess" followed by LOADS more. "Ok, mass exodus and possibly never returning being a prospect" look; it's a random guess, probably WAY out of line but who really cares right now?

Hang on…where's…James? I thought it was a bit too quiet. I looked around, not seeing him anywhere nearby. Well, at least things are going to be entertaining for a bit. No moaning, no being bossed around, just me and the silence.

I looked at the road, seeing a man with a kind of greyish shade of brown (if that colour exists, it might be more pale brown) hair, brown jacket, a duffle bag and jeans walking along the road in the opposite direction to the others. He looks like a smart guy (if you can guess at a distance) so…well, may as well.

"Excuse me sir" I spoke, he looked at me and stopped as I said this. "May I accompany you?" he blinked twice, looking surprised as I finished.

"You haven't evacuated Bruhl yet?" he asked. I shook my head…well to be fair, I haven't.

"Just making sure my brother's alright more then anything" I told him…again, to be fair, it's true…then again, he might not even be here…did he even read the book?

"Ah. I guess we're doing the same thing then" he replied, smiling. We started walking down the road

"You making sure your family are out?"

"Just my sister and a friend of ours" he explained. The mass of 'evacuees' seemed to have moved on, leaving us on the road with a nearby truck (with three wheels and a strange blue engine) 3 people near it and…well, that's pretty much it. "What's your name, if I may ask?"

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Craig Appleby" I tell him, holding my hand out.

"My name is Welkin, Welkin Gunther" he shakes my hand. "Nice to meet you Mr Appleby"

"You too, Mr Gunther" I took my hand back, looking down the road. "Call me Craig"

"I prefer Welkin I'll admit"

"Very well"

We walked down the road, talking to each other about odd things. So, this is what I know…nothing!!!

Ok, in seriousness, this is the area on the outskirts of the town of Bruhl, in Gallia. Bruhl is a border town and everyone is evacuating to get away from the Imperials and the Empire just over the border. The rest is pretty much as said in the book: ragnite powers EVERYTHING. Welkin commented on the efficiency of the new Ragnite engines, medicines and…well, lights…which I was actually surprised by. Seems Electricity is outdated…or never used…or never made…whatever.

I found my thoughts turning to James as we continued the conversation. Had he been brought here at all…if so, where was he? I did hear Welkin's side of the conversation, so I did answer, but I didn't really absorb the information. Welkin stopped talking to me for a moment, looking at the river.

"Hey" he said, running over to it and kneeling, looking into the water. "Hey guys. Starting early this season huh?" Great, a guy who talks to water. I walked over to him, looking into the same bit, seeing three strange fish, each with the same pattern on them.

"What are they?" I asked him, crouching next to him.

"Bruhl trout, they don't tend to start this early though" Welkin replied, reaching into his bag and getting a book and pen out. "I've got to sketch this"

"Um, 'start'?"

"Migrating, these guys normally go sometime during the summer, not mid-spring" he sounded extremely excited as he said this, sketching away.

I decided to leave him to this, laying down in the grass and relaxing…

One minute, I closed my eyes, the next I heard a click…

When I reopened my eyes, I was looking down the barrel of a rifle…

"Hold it right there!"

_ok, that is probably not the best welcome...then again, someon aiming a gun at you is kinda offensive_


	3. Bruhl town guard

ok, now this is where I'm probably going to start going wrong. you might see why when i get to the bit I'm not so good at.

Chapter 2

Bruhl town guard

_In those moments I had a scary feeling I was going to be shot…_

_Then again, I wonder how Welkin felt._

The gun in my face looked like a standard rifle, nothing fancy. I didn't look at who was holding it as I had a feeling if I did I'd be shot. I heard Welkin gasp.

"Hold it right there!" a young woman's voice commanded. I didn't move. Sweet merciful God, save me! "Raise your hands. Slowly!" we did as we were ordered, Welkin closing his book. "You! Sit up!" I'm guessing she meant me, so I did as I was told. "Imperial spies are in the area! You wouldn't happen to know anything?"

"Nope, sorry" I retorted. I guess Welkin saw a bit deeper into what she said.

"Spies…We're not spies" he told her. The gun moved back a bit, just out of my sight. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Both of you! Stand up!" she ordered. We both did it, slowly, hoping she wouldn't shoot us. I'm too young to die. "Turn around!"

In the means of…well, survival, I turned slowly, still holding my hands up. My nerves were a mess, and my face must have looked like two million useless dollars…you know what I mean.

I looked upon the person holding the gun, finding that it was a young woman. She had two pigtail like bits of her hair (the words escape me at the minute, but a gun can do that to you). It was separated by some sort of scarf. The clothes she was wearing were green…kinda militia style military stuff. She had fingerless gloves on her hands, which were holding a rifle. I have to say, she looked cute.

"Names!" she ordered. I didn't hesitate.

"Craig Appleby, Ma'am" I replied, almost too hastily. She looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Appleby Huh? Well, you can say hi to this one for me" she didn't move at all, whilst two men, both wearing the same clothing but wearing a helmet marker with the word 'Bruhl' on them, walked out from behind some bushes, dragging along someone I recognised. They both had a rifle in their free hands.

"James?" I asked, seeing the figure shift.

"Craig?" he replied…yeah, definitely James.

"So you two do know each other then?" the one with the gun asked.

"He's my brother" girl nodded at me, looking at Welkin.

"And you? Another one of the family?"

"No Ma'am. My name is Welkin, Welkin Gunther" Welkin replied, as scared as me. "I'm here to help my sister evacuate"

"A likely story" she told us, as four more men turned up, each looking rather…generic. Two were like the other two rifle men, one holding a rifle that had a scope on it, the other holding what I presume is a machine gun. Thank god I played those war games. "I'm sure you'd like to explain more back at the station…whilst I have a look at what you've been writing in that book of yours"

"What? This?" Welkin looked at the book in his hand as she told him this. "This is nothing. Really. I was just drawing the fish"

"We'll see"

The two riflemen grabbed Welkin, one of them grabbing his book and passing it to the woman. The…I presume Sniper and gunner grabbed me. They both locked their arms around ours, holding them tightly. It was quite painful, I'll grant you that. Welkin looked down and sighed.

"Thanks fish" he said to himself. I looked at the woman, looking angry.

"Just to be sure, what's your name?" I asked, looking at her.

"Alicia Malchiott" she replied, looking quite sternly. I'll remember that. "Now move!"

* * *

The guards started dragging us…well, more force marching us, but you get the idea. They dragged me alongside James, but every time we tried to talk to each other, we'd get a rifle butt to the chest from Alicia. Man she is evil.

Well, with nothing better to do, I look around the countryside, seeing grass, grass, grass and…river and bridge. Well, my grammar may be bad right now, but still, let me off due to the gun. After a while, once we neared the bridge…

"So you drew these yourself did you?" Alicia asked, looking through the book. I managed to get a glimpse at what it was: pages upon pages of beautiful animal and plant drawings. "I have to say, there very well"

"Well now you see I really was drawing fish" Welkin told her, looking like a puppy for some reason. "So can I go now?"

"I'm afraid not, for you see this could be some kind of code" we all stopped as she turned to Welkin. "And I intend to take as long as I need to decipher it"

"Well, Welkin, seems someone appreciates your artwork" I told him, smiling. Alicia walked over to me, looking angry.

"You do realise that if he is telling the truth, that still leaves you two with no real alibi…only each other?" she asked…I didn't forget, I just wanted to make the situation a bit…lighter if you catch my drift.

"True, but we both know we aren't spies" I told her, trying to look serious.

"Like I said earlier, you can explain yourself at the station" she then turned around, heading more towards the bridge.

She stopped, seeing something. I strained within my capturers grip to try to see but couldn't do. I heard footsteps. Heading towards us I think.

"Oh Welks, what have you done now?" I heard a young…I suppose innocent voice say. I finally got a look at who it was; it was a young girl with either black or VERY deep blue hair. Her face was untouched by things like spots, so she looked pretty. She also wore a shawl around her neck along with a green dress of sorts.

"Isara" Welkin replied, looking at the girl. James and me were both looking at her.

"You live at the general's house don't you?" Alicia asked, Isara nodding. "Why haven't you evacuated yet?"

"Well I'm in the middle of it, but I can't really continue…" she put a hand on her chin, looking down. "…unless you feel like letting my brother go"

Alicia turned to Welkin, looking shocked. Welkin looked back, smiling. She nodded to the soldiers, who let him go. Well, seems he's off the hook. He walked over to Alicia, getting his little book and pen back.

"I was just doing my job" she told him, looking disgruntled.

"It's alright, I can understand how I might look Suspicious" he told her, putting his stuff back into his bag.

"Hate to interrupt, but what about us?" James asked. The trio turned to us. I waved whilst smiling. Isara walked over to us, looking shocked.

"James, Craig, what are you two doing here?" she asked…hang on…how did she know us?

"You know them, Is?" Welkin asked. She nodded, turning to look at her brother.

"They used to live in Bruhl until around 2 years ago, when they left to travel around Europa" Did we now? James and I exchanged confused looks. I turned back to Isara.

"It's good to see you again Isara" I told her, smiling…if it got us out of this mess, I'd be willing to play along. "How've you and Welkin been these past few years?"

"We've been great"

"Uh…Is…seriously, how do you know these people?" Welkin asked her, Isara turned to her brother, smiling.

"They lived on the outskirts of town; James was a mechanic and fixed cars and other machines…" that's his dream one day. "…And Craig and I went to the same school"

"Oh, so you met in education?"

"That's right, we were good friends" is it just me, or is Isara kinda building our story for us. "But then…when their father died, they decided to go travelling for a bit" so Dad's dead here.

"So…why did Craig tell me he was here to help his brother evacuate?" Welkin, you're not helping.

"I saw James the other day, he was in their old house picking up some clothes and pictures"

"So I really was here to help him, see" I told him, smiling.

"But James told me he was looking for his brother when I found him" Alicia told Isara. She nodded.

"They haven't been here in two years, I'm sure Craig just forgot where to go" good argument Isara. "and James did comment on how hard Craig found it to remember things like that…according to him, after spending a month in Serau, Federation territory, he still couldn't make his way from their hotel to the shops and back without getting lost" James laughed a bit at that, trying hard to stifle it before a shot him an evil glare.

"So these two…are definitly…not spies?" Alicia asked finally. Isara nodded, the soldiers letting us go.

We both flexed our arms, thankful they had let us go and trying to restore circulation. The pain in my arms went after a while, so I stopped, smiling at Isara.

"Thanks you" I told her. She nodded. I looked at Alicia.

"Like I said to Welkin, I was just doing my job" she told me, looking even more disgruntled.

"Yeah, I know…thank you for being someone who does" I told her, trying not to sound rude. It's not my fault if where I come from people claim for work they haven't done or have done but shoddily.

"Just point those things somewhere else next time" James told her. Alicia looked pissed at that.

BANG!

We all heard it, looking around as he faint echoes were fading.

"What was that?" Welkin asked. Alicia must have seen it first.

"GET DOWN!" she shouted, diving quickly. We all followed suit, I and…I think James, must've not known what was going on.

We looked where Alicia was looking, seeing five people, each wearing white armour that looked weirdly like plate mail. They all had rifles in their hands, charging towards the truck. Two fired at it whilst a third threw something. Three people were standing around it, not sure as to what to do. Two were hit by bullets, whilst the third…well, you remember the soldier that threw something…I guess it was a grenade, as it blew up, the explosion coloured blue as it took the truck and the person with it.

"Fire at will!" Alicia shouted, getting to a crouching position. The other soldiers followed suit, firing away. Welkin covered Isara whilst me and James stayed down, covering our heads. The soldiers on the other side of the river fired at out little group, missing Alicia, just.

Around me, all I could hear was BANG or RATTA as the militia fired at them, with the odd PING as a shot dug into the ground somewhere. Two of the riflemen moved forward, getting close to the river. I heard two kinda soft sounds, the riflemen stopping and falling forwards into the river.

One of the rifle men took a spot in front of Alicia. The sniper and shock trooper near me firing away. I heard two more of the soft sounds, the pair shouting as they fell down, the guns landing near me. They didn't move after they landed, their eyes wide open in terror.

Another sound, and a third rifleman fell. The one in front of Alicia. His gun dropping in front of her. She stopped firing, looking at the gun as the last rifleman kept firing.

"Welkin! You know how to use this right!?" she asked, grabbing the barrel of the gun and passing it to him. He was frozen for about 5 seconds, looking at the gun as bullets whizzed by us. He nodded, grabbing it and taking it out of Alicia's hands. He pulled something back, aimed and fired at the other soldiers. Isara stayed down, staying behind Welkin.

"Craig!" James shouted, crawling over to me. I was half frozen by fear, looking at James. "Throw me the rifle!"

"But…we haven't…!" I shouted to me. He gritted his teeth.

"Just do it!"

I nodded, grabbing the sniper rifle and throwing it to him. He caught it, sitting up and turning to aim before going down again. He pulled the bolt back, setting a round up.

"Grab the Machine gun and FIRE!" he shouted to me.

"But…!"

"NO ARGUMENTS!"

I looked at the gun, seeing that it looked easy enough to use. I grabbed it, checking it out before I even thought about using it. I guessed that to get it working, you had to pull back the lever on the left. I did so, hearing a click. I held the gun uneasily, looking around. Bullets flying around us. Some sandbags were nearby.

"Head for the sandbags!" I shouted, getting up and making a mad dash for them. A few of the bullets hit the dirt near me…I was already scared to death, why not stop firing.

"Let's go!" Welkin shouted, grabbing Isara whilst everyone followed me, Bullets only just missing them as they ran. All of them, apart from James, fired whilst running, hoping to hit the enemy.

We all took cover, me and James behind the others as they fired at the imperials…

_Seeing the bodies was enough to scare me into being frozen to the spot. I don't know how James managed to keep going…but I would have to learn it._

_Isara…did confuse me…how did she know us if we didn't know her? I thought we were from two different worlds._

* * *

Any who, combat has begun. And, seeing as 'we' have more allies on the field (five) it's only fair they get more as well.

And that, if you didn't get the hint two captures ago, is what me and James are, shock trooper and sniper respectively.

I'll tell you potentials when we get to the in-game chapter 3…which, judging by this, will be a while yet.


	4. First battle

Chapter 3:

first skirmish

_As bullets fly around you kinda go into a different state of being if you know what I mean._

_If you get scared enough, you're going to do something about it._

"Craig! Craig! Craig!" I heard someone repeatedly shout. I was covering my head, cowering behind the sandbags with my eyes closed as the rest of the group, excluding Isara, fired away. When I looked at who was shouting, I found it was James. "Come on! You're a shocktrooper!"

"But I've never fought before!" I shouted back to him, only just being heard over the loud Ratter's and Bangs of the rifles.

"Neither have I! But I'm still Fighting!" he turned around, crawling on the ground to just left of Welkin, just beyond the sandbags cover. "Come on! Show them that we mean business!"

He looked down the scope of his rifle, aiming at a soldier. I watched him as he did so. Isara put her hand on mind, looking a lot more scared then me. I can't sit here scared to death. I heard Alicia shout 'reloading' as she crouched behind the bags, taking her cartridge out and loading another one, pulling the bolt back.

"I can do this" I say to myself, getting up slowly. "I can do this" can I now? James fired the rifle, groaning as he missed. He pulled the bolt back, getting a bullet from the side of the gun and loading it in. I took a spot in front of Isara, alongside Alicia, kneeling with the gun resting on it. "EAT LEAD!" I shouted, firing almost blindly towards them.

Obviously, most of my shots missed. The recoil didn't help either, as I didn't know it was that strong, forcing the gun to fire upwards. I couldn't really tell over the ratta of the gun if I hit, nor did I really care with that burst. When I ran out of ammo, I crouched back down, pulling the magazine out. wait…that's my only one! Damn! Isara poked my elbow. Turning towards her I found that she was holding loads of clips, mags and sniper bullet holders (not sure what there called but they apparently hold 5 bullets a time) I found myself asking the question:

"Where did you get that lot?" out loud. She looked at me oddly.

"Does it really matter right now?" she replied. True. I grabbed the mag, jamming it into the slot and pulling the bolt back.

"This time, aim" Alicia told me. I nodded, getting ready for another burst. "And instead of blindly firing all your ammo, do short bursts"

"Thanks!" I shouted, looking for the enemy. I saw one making a bolt for it. "One runner!"

"Got him!" Welkin shouted. He fired his gun twice, hitting the soldier square in the head. I aimed at the four behind cover, doing short bursts of fire. I couldn't hit them due to the cover.

"We need to get on their flank!" Alicia shouted, firing at them. "There's no way we can hit them from here"

"The old mill" Isara spoke. I stopped firing, pulling the mag out and grabbing another one.

"The old mill?" I saw the mill in question…I guess it would provide the cover we need.

"Can we make it?" the last rifleman asked. (you know, the guys I called generic).

In a daring but stupid move, he darted from cover, making a break for the mill. A storm of bullets flew his way, some going ping as they hit something…one hit his gun, others just missing him. James tried to get some good shots, but he missed about 3 times.

"Dammit!" he shouted, pulling the bolt back and loading another round. Welkin took cover as Alicia took over.

"He's made it!" Welkin shouted over the loud bangs of the guns. He looked at me whilst reloading. "You're next! Get ready!"

"Wait! What?!" I shouted. Run. Out of cover. In front of guns.

"You're best equipped for this!" he looked stressed as he said this, unlike his normal relaxed self. "Just don't think about the enemy and RUN!"

That's not exactly the easiest thing to do…but alright…just relax Craig…Breath. I grabbed three mags from Isara, also replacing the one I had with a fresh one and throwing the spare away. The bullets continued to fly, Alicia taking cover to reload.

"Alright" I tell him, bullets still flying as me and Alicia pull the bolts of our respective guns back. Somewhere within me I'm pulling this calm, brave person out so he can take over…metaphorically speaking of course. "Give me all the cover fire you can and I'll make the dash"

They both nodded, gripping their guns tightly. I crawled to the sandbag wall, staying low. James kept on shooting, occasionally saying some curse words under his breath as he missed. I looked at the rifleman, seeing him taking cover behind the wall of the mill, trying his best to avoid a rain of bullets.

"Stay low!" James shouted, firing another shot and reloading. Welkin and Alicia jumped up, firing at the enemy. "And GO!" man how many times have I heard that line in games?

I jumped up, running over the wall of sandbags and onto the bridge. Bullets flew by like a storm of lead and dust. Bullets dug into the bridge just after my foot left the spot they hit. I felt bullets hit my gun and even felt the wind around a few as they whizzed by me. Adrenaline pushed me on as I neared the mill.

Then…THWAP…followed by an intense burning sensation in my leg. I fell onto the dirt behind cover, the rifleman seeing me.

"Are you ok?!" he asked. I let my gun go, grabbing my leg, gritting my teeth through the pain.

"Ever tried getting shot in the leg?!" I asked. "It bloody hurts!"

"Hold on!" he put his rifle to one side, pulling a capsule like object from his uniform. it had a see-through top half with some kind of…well, you know what they have in lights? That. The bottom half had a key of sorts in it.

He twisted the key, holding the capsule over my injury. A blue glow filled the device, which moved to my leg. The pain started subsiding, and then the bullet was pushed out (weird) and finally my pain stopped. It was as if the wound had never happened.

"What the heck?" I asked, checking my leg in disbelief.

"Ragnaid, standard issue these days" he told me, throwing the device away. "Engineers have better ones but we don't have any in the town watch" he grabbed his rifle, hugging the wall again. "But enough chatter, back to the battle"

I nodded, grabbing the gun and getting back up, moving so my back was against the wall. All I could hear was 'Ratta ratta ratta' or 'bang bang' or the odd 'ping'. I moved carefully around the mill, opposing the way my ally was going. I managed to get a good look at what the imperials were doing.

They were still firing at the others, occasionally ducking to avoid being hit themselves. They were paying so much attention that they seemed to have forgotten about me and my friend…either that or they thought they had me and the rifleman pinned at the same time.

I knelt down, walking carefully forward. The soldiers still didn't notice me, not even when I had gotten out of my cover. I stopped, aiming the gun off my knee. I'd have preferred a grenade right now, but we apparently don't have any. Time to eat lead. I fired everything I had at the group, hitting one of all around his body. He dropped to the ground, not moving after that. The other three looked around, seeing me and jumping over the bags to avoid my shots.

I got up and jumped behind cover just as a storm of bullets flew behind me, missing me by inches. The mill wall looked in bad shape with the bullet holes in it. The guys stopped to reload every so often, when I snuck out a couple of rounds. The rifle guy taking part.

Now, I realise, the 'jumping over the sandbags' part was bad for them. You see, the bags were the only thing keeping them safe from James…now they are out the way. I heard a loud 'BANG' and one of the soldiers fall. Another few 'Ratta' sounds and the other two fell. I kept an eye on them, just to be sure.

"That's the last of them!" Welkin shouted. I came out from behind the mill, the rifleman doing the same. We saw Alicia looking at the bodies from near the bridge. Welkin and Isara nearer the mill then the bridge and James near them, Isara with a bag full of stuff. We all still had our weapons with us. Welkin was holding his barrel in one hand, Alicia doing the same. James had his pointing downwards, holding the handle before the trigger. (You know what I mean if you've seen one) and I was holding it over my shoulder. All of us were breathing heavily from the battle, Isara through fear, the rest of us just worn out.

"Miss Malchiott!" the soldier shouted, running over to her. "There's no sign of anymore enemy troops miss" he reported. Alicia didn't move from her pose.

"Good" she solemnly replied, leaving it at that.

"What shall we do with the bodies' ma'am?"

"We'll bury them" she replied again. "After all, their human too"

The rifleman ran off, leaving our little group alone. I looked at James, smiling, and then turning back to Alicia. She reached into her pocket, pulling something out and holding her hand in the wind. We all saw a white seed of some sort being taken by the wind.

"Welks, what is that?" Isara asked…that's what I want to know.

"Seeds from the lion's paw" he replied, looking at his sister. "It blooms white, fast, strong and simple"

"I want to remember…." Alicia started, turning to us. "That this war was not just about death…but also, new life" such a grand dream.

I looked at James, seeing him smile. We had our first taste of combat and won. While we didn't enjoy it, we knew we could win with our squad mates' help. He pulled the bolt back on his rifle, as did I with my machine gun.

"Well then, ladies and Gents" I started, smiling. "How about we get back to Bruhl and see how everyone's doing?"

_Lion's paw…white, fast, strong and simple. Sounds like a great plant._

_Once I got 'Ragnaid'ed my injuries weren't too bad. Now I've just got to work on being relaxed in combat as opposed to just important moments._

Combat down, took most of a chapter and most of a night (time is 2:48 when this is done)

So, need sleep…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


	5. Bruhl

Let's see if I can keep a good run going.

Chapter 4

Bruhl

_It felt weird, being in combat then suddenly being out of it._

_Almost as if it had never happened._

_But it did happen_

_And I know that blood won't wash off my hands…_

We all walked into Bruhl together, Isara now carrying nothing apart from what she was wearing due to giving all her ammo out during the combat. We each put our guns over our shoulders, carrying them into Bruhl. Mr Generic stayed behind, burying the bodies.

"Ah…home sweet home" Welkin stated as we walked into a town. James and myself looked around, seeing that the streets were near enough deserted. The stone beneath our feet felt smooth, and the buildings looked quite old but in a good state. A massive windmill of some sort was in the middle, with two separate…I think there called sails but I'm not 100% on that. This town was quite large compared to what I thought they were.

"This place is awesome" I told him, smiling.

"Beautiful" James commented, looking at the other three. "I thought Bruhl would be a lot different then this"

"It's changed a lot from when you remember it, hasn't it?" Isara asked. Well, considering we don't remember it.

"It has" I replied, smiling. "It's a lot bigger"

"Due to being on the border, we get a lot of people from the empire coming to visit. Some even stay here" Alicia informed me. She then looked away. "But they were…chased out of town"

"I can understand why" our battle was with them just now.

There was a small silence as we watch the mill turn in the wind. It was pretty much the only sound we heard in the whole town. I watched the street, seeing a few people walking around, getting a few last minute essentials for the journey. After this uncomfortable silence, Alicia decided to break it, turning to us and saluting.

"Well then, Civilians, I must get back to duties" she told us. We watched her as she did so. "Please be careful as you go about your business" she started to run off.

"Wait!" Welkin shouted. The militiawoman stopped, looking at him. "What about these?" he took the gun off his back, holding it out to her.

"Oh, nearly forgot" she walked over to us, grabbing the guns. "I'll take these back to headquarters. They do need informing of the deaths of the men"

"Fair enough" I let go of my gun, letting her take. "See you later"

"Good bye!" she shouted, running off.

I waved her off as I normally do, waiting until her footsteps had gone before looking around. Now some people were walking by us, leaving town. Seems they were scared of the guns…well, the guns we had along with the imperial ones.

"Why don't you go finish evacuating?" Welkin asked. James and I looked at him. "It's going to be a long trip to Randgriz"

"I'm sure I can finish up on my own Welkin" James told him, smiling. "Craig could help you out though" I raised an eyebrow

"I could?" I asked, getting a subtle boot to the leg. "I mean I could!" very quickly slipping that in

"Are you two sure?" Welkin asked, Isara looking excited.

"All I need to do is pack the bags into the sidecar of the bike and we're good to go" James told him. So he has been home. Oh well, less time with him the better.

"Well…I guess you could help Craig" nice. Isara looked at her brother, then at me, running over to me.

"I'll finally be able to show you my home, just like I promised" she informed me. How nice.

"Well then, what do you say we get started then?" I said to her. She nodded, running ahead. "Wait up" I ran after her, Welkin, I presume, walking after us.

You know, considering it's been, what…an hour, maybe 2 since I killed that Imperial. I honestly don't feel any different. No nausea, no guilt, no…nothing. I for one think that's strange, and if this was a book, I'd think I was entering Stu territory. But then again, maybe it's down to the fact that it was either us or them…that seems to be the only explanation I can come up, and the most logical.

Anyway, Bruhl is almost exactly what you'd expect a town to be like. The whole place is centred on the windmill, every road leading towards it. I for one loved the idea, it was better then what we used to have back home. Made the place look nice.

We didn't pass anyone as we ran down cobblestoned streets, all the way through to a nice house on the outskirts of town. Isara stopped just after the cobbles ended, giving way to a dirt track with small white pickets linked together with chain, making a fence, on the left. Isara was breathing heavily, as was I, except I was bent over, my hands on my knees.

"That…was longer…then I thought" I told her, between breaths. I looked at her, seeing her smile.

"It's changed a lot, hasn't it?" she asked me, seemingly untired, if that is possible.

"It sure has" I got up, recovering from my fatigue and turning to look at Bruhl. "I don't remember Baker's street"

"It was built just after you left" she told me, walking up to me and standing beside me. "I thought you would like it"

"I do" I took a deep noseful of air; getting the scent of…fresh bread…I sighed in delight. "Absolutely amazing" Welkin was walking towards us, smiling.

"You two definitely know each other well" he commented, smiling at us. Yeah, about that…

"I had to have some friends at school" Isara told him, almost defeatist.

"Isara is an amazing girl" I told Welkin, smiling. "One of the best I know"

"So her Darcsen heritage didn't get in the way with you?" Welkin asked. Darkskin? Isara looks fine.

"Why should it?" I asked him, part rhetoric, part serious. I think he saw the rhetoric side.

"You're a good person, Craig" he told me, walking ahead. I turned around, seeing Isara smile then follow.

Something tells me that something about Isara is a hated characteristic. Let's see…shawl, face, height, age…hair. Darksuns, could it be the hair that gives it away? And then why are they hated? These I'm gonna have to find out at some point.

I followed them, walking into a big house…almost a wooden mansion. Everything was well kept, the grass was trimmed and portals of fine quality hung from the wooden walls. I saw loads of boxes packed and ready to be moved all over the place.

"Well if it isn't Welkies" we heard someone say. We all turned around, seeing an older woman wearing a yellow…I suppose dress. She had brown-ish hair and looked…either overweight or pregnant. My bets on pregnant.

"Marta, it's been years since you called me that" Welkin told her, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, you'll always be my Welkies" this should be good. She looked at me, looking puzzled as she held a hand over her mouth. "Oh my, you didn't say you brought a guest"

"Marta, this is Craig" Isara told her. I did a little wave.

"Hi" I spoke.

"Craig?" she asked, looking puzzled but moving her hand away from her mouth. "You don't mean Craig who used to live near the town watch Headquarters do you?" Must…presume…answer.

"Yeah, my brother and I came back from our travels a few days ago" I lied. Think Craig, Think. "James is busy getting the last of our things whilst I came here to help you" I looked around. "But it looks like you're already done"

"Finished off after my jog" she told me.

"Marta, you've got to take things easy" Welkin told her. "Your child is due any day now"

"Oh relax, it's not going to do the little thing any harm" she turned to me. "I should know. I've had 4 of 'em" I almost laughed, but decided not to upon the fact dawning on me that this would be her 5th. That was large for what we had back home.

"Um, excuse me!" I heard a faint voice shout from the door. We all turned to look at it. "I'm looking for Welkin Gunther!"

That voice sounds familiar. Welkin went and opened the door, being greeted by a big bag of…bread…sniff sniff…freshly made bread. I can feel my mouth watering, threatening to drown me. I swallowed, the head behind the bag tilting to look around.

"Hi, Welkin" she spoke, lowering the bag. "I made these as a form of apology" yep, Alicia. Welkin ushered her in, the militia woman walking around, trying to find a table. Once she found it, after bumping into it, literally, she placed the large amount of bakery goods.

"Hi Alicia" Isara said to her, smiling.

"Hello Isara, Craig" she replied, looking around. "This is a nice place"

"Oh, stop, it's just what the cleaner's been doing" Marta spoke. true, she had done this place over. Alicia looked at her, surprised. "Well, Welkies, you didn't tell me you had a friend"

"What…no, Alicia just saved me earlier, that's all" Welkin explained.

"That's right, I'm his hero" Alicia gleefully replied.

Whilst this conversation was going on, my attention was drawn (after grabbing a nice piece of bread of course). I saw on the opposite wall a picture that looked…mildly out of place. The rest were colourful and scenes, while this one was black and white. In it were 2 men, standing in front of a tank. The conversation stopped as Alicia joined me.

"I know the one on the left is General Gunther" she spoke, as everyone looked at the painting. "But who is that on the right?"

"That's Theimer, Father's best friend" Welkin explained. "And Isara's father" Alicia looked amazed at this, as she turned to the Darkskun herself. I take a bite from the bread and get sent straight to heaven.

"But I thought you were both the general's kids"

"My father and mother both died when I was very young" Isara informed her, closing her eyes. "The general was kind enough to take me in as his own"

"So even though we aren't blood relations, we may as well be" Welkin interrupted. "I don't care what people say, Isara is still my sister"

It must be nice, having a sibling like Welkin. Maybe one day me and James can be like that, but I sincerely doubt it. Alicia looked at her watch, panic filling her eyes.

"Oh my, is that the time? I've got to get going" she exclaimed.

"I'm going to have to get going too" I told them looking between them. "I doubt James will be done by now" he has a tendency not to finish work unless it suits him. "You'll have to excuse me"

"I'll see you both out" Welkin told us. I quickly finish the bread, Alicia and me both walking out, Welkin following.

We left the Gunther mansion behind, now walking down the streets of Bruhl towards the Town guard HQ. I was keeping silent as Alicia and Welkin talked. Something seemed off as we headed through town…something big.

"I do hope we'll come back to this mill" Welkin spoke. We all stopped as we looked at it.

"The town guard will do their upmost to defend Bruhl from the Imperials" Alicia replied, looking at Welkin.

"I hope so" I told her, smiling. "Because I want to get back into my old life in this town"

Bang!

Not again.

We all looked around, trying to find the source. None of us could see anything. I looked at the mill, seeing a yellow comet fly into it, exploding on impact and destroying the mill. As the ruins fell to the ground, we knew what was going on.

"Their here" I told them, stating the obvious.

"We have to get our guns from HQ" Alicia told us. I heard three bangs, followed by three screams. "But judging from that, they have the plaza"

HONK HONK!

Definitely not expected.

We turned towards it, seeing James driving up to us on a bike with a sidecar. He wasn't wearing anything other then the norm. he looked between me and Alicia.

"Where are our guns?" he asked.

"HQ" she replied. James revved the engine. "But you'll never get them alone" he stopped, looking at her. "I at least have to come along, to prove you are Gallian soldiers"

"Get in or on" he told all three of us. I jumped in the sidecar, Welkin behind James as Alicia sat behind me. It was a tight squeeze but we fitted. "Hold on tight, things are gonna get rough!"

He 'floored' the accelerator, blasting ahead at a breakneck speed. James was right to bring the bike, I found, as when we made it out onto the main road, we came under a hail of gunfire. I doubt we would have made it otherwise.

Now onto HQ, or lose Bruhl AND it's citizens

_The Imperials attack on Bruhl was 1, maybe 2 hours after the first skirmish._

_And this was the real thing._

_I was thankful James was here for this, because I would have gone insane by now._

It was either this or be asking to sign up. and I don't think I'd be doing that.

Either way, I have a plan for next chapter.

You'll see…


	6. The battle for Bruhl

Ok, this is one chapter I think might bring this down, as I have a feeling I've gone off course and have some fear immunity... But there will be others where we break off from the main story. This one just happens to be doing pretty much the same thing as the main story. Just from a different side with a different team.

Chapter 5:

In defence of Bruhl

* * *

_I think I knew, as I walked into that place…_

_I knew that things wouldn't be easy…_

_That we would be in for hell…_

_What I didn't know was who would be tagging along._

"You want me to clear the guns for use by you and these three?" the Militia commander, a huge, moustached man by the name of Gerik. His blue eyes didn't help with the thought that he wasn't at peace. His gruff voice sounding like it was near the brink of going.

"Yes commander" Alicia replied. We were all in his office as he was getting everything together. The rest of the militia had marched. "These three are responsible for repelling an earlier attack by the imperials" true.

"And what makes you think that they can help now?" he asked, rhetorically. Alicia gritted her teeth as she thought of a response.

"Well, we, with less military training then the militia troop, managed to fight off the imperials with little to no injury" James told him, smiling as he said it. "So technically we're your best hope" he has a point.

"Did I ask you?" Gerik shouted back, going red in anger. "I don't care who you think you are, but I'm the commander around her, not you"

"Well, as far as I've seen, you've got 4 guns free" I told him, then looking around. "A machine gun, a sniper rifle and two standard rifles" the guys who died earlier. I walked up to the neat desk, slamming my fist down on it. "Either give us our guns, and let us help, or let more innocents die" he didn't seem to be at all phased by this, but nonetheless, his colour returned to normal.

"Fine" he told me, throwing Alicia a key. "Just make sure you keep to your word"

Well that didn't take long. I was sure we'd be here all day the way he was. We all ran to the Armoury, grabbing our guns and spare rounds. I pulled the bolt back on my gun, getting used to it again.

"What's the plan?" I asked them, resting the gun upside down on my shoulder.

"You two take the main road, we'll take a side one and together we'll blow them away" Welkin told us. I nodded, smiling.

"Sounds like fun" I told him, holding the sarcasm. "And the main road is closer"

"Exactly, you'll draw them away and we'll take them out from behind"

"Ok" I grabbed a few of the Ragnaid thingies, placing them on my belt. "We'll see you in the plaza"

James and I ran out after that, flying out of the Militia HQ onto cobblestone roads. The area in front of us was, near enough, the road we were told to clear…and it was crawling with Imperials. Some of the Militia had set up sandbags to help avoid attacks and were firing at them with little success. However, the Imperial line was having better luck, hitting several of our allies. They fell dead, save for one.

"I'll help them" I told James, quickly scanning the area, seeing a door leading into a building with a destroyed roof. Someone had set up a ladder onto said roof, so they could be walked across. "Go in the house and onto the roof and provide support fire"

James nodded, running off into the building. I ran alongside for a bit, sliding behind the sandbags, bullets flying everywhere. I looked at who was next to me, seeing a young girl with a rifle, fear making her fire more then determination. I popped up from behind cover, firing blind just to find out where the enemy were.

"Enemy to the left!" she meekly shouted. I crouched down, evading a hail of gunfire. My heart began beating in my ears as adrenaline course in my veins. I turned towards said foe, firing a blind burst whilst crouching. I don't know if I hit him or not, but the firing from that position stopped.

"What's your name?" I asked her, turning to look at her. She had long blond hair, tied back with a red tie of some sort.

"Susie Evans, sir" she told me, breaking cover to fire at another enemy. "It's my first time fighting"

"My name is Craig…and, well…it's my second" and I've already got the thousand yard stare. Susie took cover again, reloading. "Listen, we need to distract the enemy long enough for my friend to take them out"

"What friend?"

"A sniper" just get there soon James, the third hail is really showing. "Ok, give me some cover fire, and I'll move up" I looked around, seeing no other Militiamen. "When I reach there" I pointed at some sandbags near the wall, a bit further up the street. "I want you to keep an eye out, as I will give you a signal. This signal will be your chance to move up. Got it?"

"I'll try" she looked out from behind cover, seeing the enemy. "There are five on the next line alone"

"Relax, we'll make it" I got ready to run. "Now fire at will"

Susie nodded to me, broke cover and fired randomly at the enemy. They all ducked, not wanting to get hit. I charged out as she ducked to reload, getting to the next point before the enemy popped back up.

"Just try me!" I shouted at them, pointing the gun in their direction and firing the rest of the clip. I slid into cover as the enemy fired at me, only just missing my side. I put my bag to the wall, pulling the clip out and throwing it aside, getting a fresh clip, loading it and pulling the bolt back. Hey, that's becoming a 2nd nature.

Glancing at the rooftops, I saw James lying prone on the roof, looking down his sight. I hope you're good at this James. He pulled the trigger, firing at one of the imperials and killing him in one head shot. The other 4 were looking around for him, which Susie and I used to shoot them. They didn't even bother about us. I filled two with 20 bullets worth of lead, and Susie killed the others with headshots.

I turned to James, signalling him to move forward. He got up; pulling the bolt back on the rifle and putting another bullet in. he climbed up the ladder, quickly setting up again. I looked at Susie, pointing at the second set of sand bags. She nodded, running forward and crouching behind them. I joined her, at the other side.

The street now opened out a bit, as we came closer to the plaza and the mill itself. Ruined shop lined the street, along with broken trees and squashed cars. The next row of imperials was in a square, guarding the plaza itself. They were set up with 5 sets of sandbag walls, each separate from the next, so that they could hold anything off. I reloaded my gun again, smiling for some unknown reason.

"These guys are good" I commented, moving my gun to my side and aiming. "But I bet they didn't"

I was mentally pushing myself to pull the trigger, but something kept me back. The ore I wanted to pull it, the more the force wanted me not to. The adrenaline rush, which had gotten me this far, had worn off. Now the fear was setting in. the imperials saw me, firing everything they had at me. I only just got behind cover in time, feeling a bullet whiz by the top of my head.

"Come on. Don't freeze up now!" I shouted at myself, impressed that I had gotten this far on adrenaline. "You're a soldier of Gallia for god sake, now shoot them"

I couldn't move…fear had frozen me to the spot as a continuous fire of bullets flew my way, impacting the sandbags. The ratta of the guns was scary enough, but knowing that I was willing pain my way…that was what scared me.

Death.

I don't want ol' Greg to take me yet. I quickly took cover, shallow breath, heart racing and thoughts of fleeing in my head. Come on Craig, you can do this. Time to show people that you're a lot braver then you look. Bullet casings lay at my feet, Susie reloading as she emptied her cartridge. Another hail of gunfire hit my barrier, and I saw James fire another shot, one of the shooters dropping, firing his gun upwards.

I'm not losing this now.

I shot out from cover, seeing three gunners left. You're mine buddy. I aimed for one of them, firing quickly as I saw the other 2 setting up to fire back. The one I was aiming at started dancing weirdly as the bullets hit him, and started to fall forwards when I stopped. The chime of casings hitting the ground rang in my ears as I retook my cover.

And then…well…this is where the situation really gets scary.

I heard the roar of an engine, all the firing stopping. I looked at Susie, who looked at me. Neither of us knew what was going on. I looked at James, seeing him looking around. I focused on the sound, trying to figure out what it was…

"That almost sounds like a…" I said to myself, breaking cover and looking behind the soldiers. Welkin and Alicia were running backwards whilst firing at something. the sound got louder…then I saw it…

The beast.

The machine of our destruction.

A tank, rather small, making a loud clunk every time it moved. Its large caterpillar tracks dragging along the floor as its wheels strained to move them. It moved its gun around, aiming for the pair. A machine gun blaring out from underneath.

"Shit" I said to myself, Susie looked scared to hell. "We don't have the equipment to take that on" it followed the pair, turning enough to reveal a radiator. Instead of being red, like back home, it was a very bright blue, with the occasional spark. "And there isn't a chance in hell of taking it down like that"

"So what do we do?" Susie asked. I heard a dull thud next to us, quickly turning around, aiming my gun at the intruder. I breathed a sigh of relief. It's only James.

"Let's follow Welkin and Alicia" he told us, looking between me and Susie. "As long as we keep moving, we won't come to too much harm, and the few wounds we get you'll be able to take care of, Craig"

You're so kind. And how the hell are you staying so bloody calm? Maybe being a sniper has its advantages. But then I'm supposed to be the brave one.

GAH! Why am I thinking about this now?! Time and place, Craig. Time and place. I nod, James making a break for it, closely followed by me, then Susie. A hail of even more gun fire came from the enemy soldiers, and a seemingly endless stream of machine gun fire from the tank. We made it by most of the bullets unharmed, but some hit James (who swore as one dug into his shoulder) one hit Susie (who cursed, without swearing) and a few dug into my arm and chest (I was unlucky, getting hit on my hand, along with some scratches)

It was like some cheap Indiana Jones moment, where we'd run with loads of smoke behind us as the enemy just missed us. We made it round the corner, seeing Welkin and Alicia taking cover behind some sandbags. We all jumped over, sitting down next to them, breathing heavily.

"Well, that didn't go well" I told them, pulling the bolt back on my gun, making sure it was ready to go if needed.

"We don't have the fire power to take on that tank" Welkin told us. As he finished another volley of fire hit the bags. I grabbed my Ragnaid capsules, turning them on and healing our wounds. "We have to evacuate as soon as possible. What will the Town guard be doing?"

"We'll be making sure that everyone escapes safely" Alicia replied, turning to Susie. "Susie, you help the people leave. I'll work with some of the remaining guard to hold the enemy off as long as possible"

"Ok Alicia!" she shouted, running off to do her job.

"I'll go make sure Isara and Marta are ok" Welkin told us, looking between us. "you two would be more helpful around Alicia"

"Sure!" I yelled over a new volley. "But either way, let's move! Now! Please!"

We all nodded, running away from the imperials and going our separate ways. Alicia and I went left as we went down the alley, Welkin and James went right. I thought you were coming with us James. Great, now we're a sniper down.

"Be honest with me" I started, looking at Alicia as we ran. "If we can't stop the Imperial attack, then what'll happen?" Alicia looked at me grimly.

"Over 2000 people will most likely die, including us" she replied. "But we are the town watch, and will never let that happen"

I just had to ask the question didn't I? You know I said about being scared. Well, my confidence is now waning quite quickly.

* * *

_Maybe if we had some bazookas or RPGs or whatever, then we could take on the tank._

_I wasn't confident enough to attempt fighting it back then._

_James was becoming a brilliant sniper._

_But I still had to learn to overcome my fear…_

* * *

I'm not too sure on this chapter.

But then I'm not too sure on most combat scenes so…hmm


	7. OK Bruhl-ale

50 points if you get the reference.

And we're nearly done in Bruhl now.

Just this chapter and we're out

* * *

Chapter 6:

Ok Bruhl-ale

_Why James split off, I didn't know_

_What I did know was that I was needed._

_And I needed to overcome my fears without adrenaline in my blood._

Alicia and I met up with what was left of the town guard, which was about 2 people, both generic and holding rifles…great. Such a grand start. They had some clips and ragnaid capsules set out, along with some blue... I presume grenades, as they look like the old German things.

"What's the plan?" Alicia asked, the sounds of gunfire in the background. I started grabbing the Machinegun clips, attaching them to the left side of my belt as the ragnaid was put on my right…well I may as well take all the machinegun rounds, I'm the only shock trooper in this merry bunch of men. I grabbed a few grenades, putting them on the same side as the ragnaid.

"Commander Gerik's last orders, before being shot at and killed in the tank he was driving were to hold the imperials at this line" one of them spoke, looking around. "We set up our line near the south road into and out of the town" sounds simple enough. "Sandbags have been placed, but we doubt we'll be able to hold of the tank"

"If we can hold them off long enough for the people to escape, then we can leave" Alicia told them, looking at the table and grabbing what was left.

"How are the imperials being held from breaking our line otherwise?" I asked, looking at the road.

"All we could set up is the stone gate" sounds like the imperials are going to have fun. "But we did manage to get a tower in place to shoot from"

I nodded, looking around him and seeing the sandbags and tower. They were set up to surround the building and tower, and some were on the left hand side of the road so that we could take cover there if needed.

"Judging from the sound of things, we need to get started" Alicia told them. They both nodded, I placed the gun on my shoulder. "We are the town guard. We will guard the people of this town until they escape" she commanded. The two soldiers nodded, running over to the bags.

"You sure your not a commander?" I asked her, smiling.

"I'm private Malchiott" she told me, running over to the sandbags.

"Fine" I followed her, both of us setting up behind the bags. I pulled the clip of my gun out; making sure it had some ammo in it…oh a fresh cartridge. It slides out quickly and easily. And I find the thin long rounds in the sections. Perfect. I shove it back in, whacking it one to make sure it was secure before pulling the bolt back. "Now all we can do…is wait"

We knelt behind the sandbags for what felt like an eternity. Every one of us was keeping an eye out for the enemy. Alicia was saying something to herself, something about how we had to keep the enemy back. I kept on checking my gun, paranoid that something would go wrong.

The other two town watchmen weren't much better, keeping silent and aiming, making sure the enemy didn't get the drop on us. Thank god someone is doing their job.

I wouldn't feel as bad as I did if James were here. Why did he break off? Surely he'd have a better time helping us. The sounds of gunfire got quieter. Something was off.

"They are coming" I said to myself, aiming towards the end of the road. Looking at this scene, we have one flaw in this plan. To the right of the road is a grass verge that goes around the houses, linking to the road again. The enemy could use that to get to us. I'm hoping they don't but…

"Every one get behind cover!" Alicia shouted, aiming her rifle at the same spot as me. The other two did the same. "We will hold them here. For Bruhl!"

From behind the ruined house in front of us, three white sets of armour ran out. each one armed with a rifle. I heard one of them shout something, pointing to us. They took a spot near the sandbags the guard had set up, firing at us.

The first hail of fire hit the sandbags, none getting anywhere near me. I got up, firing my cartridge at them as the other three joined in. the storm of bullets flew from our weapons, hitting the wall, the sandbags, the road…and one of them fell to a good bullet to the head.

I heard the sound of casings hit the ground as I hit the deck, the enemy firing back at us. Alicia and the soldiers had to reload; I grabbed a spare cartridge just in case. I knew that 15 rounds had been spent, after seeing the casings.

A lull in the enemy hail led to our counter. Alicia and the other two shot up, aiming their weapons and firing at the enemy. I followed, getting my last few bullets off, managing to hit a second. I heard a click in my gun, the bullets stopping. Wow, I was right.

"Reloading!" I shouted, hitting the deck. The other three followed, removing their clips and loading new ones. I quickly yanked mine out, shoving in the new one and pulling the bolt back. Now adrenaline was pumping in my veins. I peeked my head up, just managing to dodge a new hail.

2 new targets had joined the first, these two armed with machine guns and grenades attached to their sides. They took position, aiming at us.

"New enemies!" I shouted, one running forward, the other two firing at us like hell. "Alicia, give me some cover fire!"

"Why?!" she shouted back, the hail still going.

"I'm going to hit their flank!" I shouted back, looking at her. "We need to break the down, and I know that doing it this way is the only way!"

She nodded, turning to the soldiers and pointing at the enemy. The other two nodded, getting ready. The hail of bullets stopped, finally. My allies got up, firing at the enemy.

First shot. The casings hit the ground. I got ready to run.

Second shot. Run like hell!

I dashed madly from the sandbags, jumping over the side, heading towards the alleyway where we entered the road, firing madly at the enemy. The enemy stayed down, trying not to get hit.

And that's when I saw it…the beast. The ton of steel known as a tank.

And that's when my heart kinda sunk a bit.

I made it behind cover, the adrenaline now leaving me. Great, such perfect timing. I heard a loud bang, followed by an explosion, then a hole in the ground as the smoke cleared…well, nice to know the tank is loaded.

You know, I don't like this plan anymore. Something about that tank has kinda put me off.

I put my back to the wall, looking right as I knew the enemy were. This was going to be where things could go wrong. If I risk going out, I could get hit by the tank. Do nothing and I risk getting killed by the enemy.

Time for plan B.

Grenade time.

I'm hoping it's a three second fuse. As I can hear someone sneaking up, another 2 hails of fire going by. I knelt down, placing the gun down as I pulled a grenade off my belt. Let's see, ring at the bottom, attached to string and, presumably, the ignition system.

Better try it.

I pull the cord, throwing the grenade around the corner quickly. I heard three pings as it hit the ground, a blue glow issuing forth from the top, three seconds later.

BOOM!

Followed by a groan. Then a thud.

I quickly looked round the corner, seeing an imperial, shrapnel embedded all over his body, unmoving in the middle of the road…shit. That's some strong gunpowder.

I looked down the street, seeing the other two imperials aiming at me. I darted behind my cover, the wall chipping as bullet embedded in it. I grabbed my gun, pulling the cartridge out to check it. Thank god I did. I was out of bullets.

One of the town watch was now in the tower, firing at the enemy below. When he was reloading, the other two were firing, giving him cover. I saw Alicia reloading, looking at me. I nodded, shoving another clip in and pulling my bolt back. She held up two fingers, then holding a cartridge up.

I presume she means two cartridges left.

I grabbed a spare, holding it up as I check my remaining clips…3…that's what…80 rounds.

So we both have 90 rounds max.

Damn.

I turned around, pressing my chest to the wall, swapping my gun to my right hand. I peeked around the corner, seeing the tank moving towards us, the troopers on the left moving forward as well.

I retook cover, holding the gun out and firing blind. The rapid ratta of the gun, along with the recoil, made me fire all over the place, but generally in the direction. I heard one thud, along with multiple pings. I presumed I hit the tank. A loud bang was followed by the sound of an explosion and collapsing wood. I looked at the tower, seeing the soldier falling from it, the tower falling to pieces.

He fell, crashed down on the wood…and one long sharp piece of wood entered his chest.

I looked away, trying not to throw up. I knelt down, pulling the cartridge out and throwing it to one side. I heard a low sound, like someone blowing on a long piece of tubing. Alicia dove to one side, the other town watch soldier still firing.

I saw a big blue shell land between the two. It exploded like a grenade, levelling the sandbag wall and what remained of the tower. The guard didn't stand a chance, getting the full force of the hit, shrapnel embedding all over his body. Alicia was better off, but a big piece hit her leg.

"Alicia!" I shouted, looking over at her. She waved at me.

"Stay there!" she shouted, staying down and grabbing a ragnaid capsule. "Cover me!"

I complied, desperation causing me to break cover. 3 clips left. I fired all over the place, hoping to hit a foe of some sort. Most of my shots hit the tank, but a few hit and killed a soldier wearing red armour instead of white. He fell to the ground, bullets flying as his gun discharged upwards as he fell. I heard a lot of pings as the bullets bounced off the tanks armour.

I took cover again, the tank taking a shot at me with the turret. It hit the building I was next to, blowing a hole clean through it. Rubble shot by me the shockwave hit me, knocking me to the ground. Thankfully I was otherwise safe. I looked at Alicia from the ground, seeing her getting back up with a blue glow, throwing something away.

She then grabbed a grenade, pulling the pin, as I suppose it really is, and throwing it at the tank. A blue glow flew to the tank, exploding in a blue cloud of smoke. I broke cover, using the smoke as a distraction to find a new spot.

And I should've looked before I ran. Turns out three imperial troopers are behind said tank, each one pulling the bolts back and aiming them at me. I stopped quickly, turning back whilst firing at them.

"Alicia, a little help!" I shouted. I looked around in panic, finding no cover. "Shit"

"We can't give up now!" she shouted. The tank pointed it's turret towards the gate. "No!"

It took a quick shot, hitting the gate with a perfect shot. The stone started crumbling as it strained under the shell, but otherwise stayed intact. I gritted my teeth, pointing my gun at the soldiers.

"I'm not dying here" I told them. They gave one quick laugh before focusing on us.

"At least we held them off" Alicia told me, defeatist.

"Don't give up now! We're too young to die now!"

And then…well, I suppose you'd call it a miracle.

A tank, larger then the enemy's and coloured blue, drove through a wall, it's large treads and turret the first thing to be seen. Along with the turret there was an antenna and…one guy. A young man was just seen from out of the turret.

"Alicia! Craig!" Welkin shouted, the tank turning towards us.

"Welkin?" I asked, almost in disbelieve. The enemy turned towards it as well. Alicia and myself both used the distraction to great effect. She pointed her rifle at one, shooting him straight in the head. I pointed at another, firing the whole clip whilst moving around to hit the pair. I missed one, but the 2nd one fell to the ground.

"Why you…" the soldier asked. The person on the top of the tank aimed a rifle at him, shooting him in the head. nice one James.

"Welkin, you have a tank?" Alicia asked.

"Save the chat for later!" James told her, jumping said tank and landing next to me. The turret rotated, aiming at the radiator of the other tank.

"FIRE!" Welkin shouted.

The tank fired a shell at the other tank, destroying it in one go. The tank pretty much exploded, leaving behind a shell of what it was, charred and useless. Alicia cheered; I placed my gun on my shoulder.

"Now you're my hero Welkin" she told him. Welkin looked at her and smiled.

"Come on, we're getting out of here" he told her. Alicia climbed on the tank. I was about to follow, but stopped by James.

"We've got a different route" he told me, running off. I waved to Alicia and Welkin, running after him. James led me to a pair of motorcycles, each one black with silver handles. "Let's ride"

I nodded. We both grabbed a bike and started them up. James strapped his rifle to his back; I kept my gun in my hand, just in case. He rode ahead. I closely followed behind. Occasionally checking back to make sure we were safe.

So, to skip a journey, we rode out of Bruhl, behind the massive tank. Alicia rode on the top, keeping an eye out for anything. When we got to the mill, Welkin stopped the tank, climbing out and walking over to a hill. James and I stopped the bikes, setting the stands up, placing the guns on them and looking at Bruhl.

"I knew we'd have to leave one day" Alicia spoke, sorrowfully. "I knew that this would happen…but I'm still not ready" Welkin looked at some birds, looking serious.

"We look at those birds and think they live free" Welkin started. We all followed his gaze, seeing said birds. "But they have their own territory. And they'll fight with their lives to defend it"

"We'll be back one day" I told her, looking at the woman. "And we'll reclaim our home from the imperials" well, I say our home, but I mean theirs…then again…

She nodded, Welkin agreeing. In this scene, there was one, small, possibly insignificant detail missing.

Where's Isara?

"Welks" she spoke, appearing out of the tank and walking over to us with a baby in her hands, wrapped in something. "Marta fell asleep, so I'm baby sitting for a while" wow, so that's something I need filling in on. She handed the baby over to Welkin, who looked at it, turning towards the town and stepping forward.

"Hey little guy…that's your home" he started; Alicia and Isara were behind him in a triangle fashion. I joined Alicia, James joining Isara. "And one day, we'll go back there"

We all watched Bruhl, now ruined by the attack, as the sunset.

Now we had a reason to fight

To avenge those who died today.

* * *

_What a great way to spend your first day somewhere_

_Fighting for your life against a better equipped enemy._

_But I think that's when I it first hit me._

_This is war_

_Not some game._

* * *

FINALLY. FINALLY OUT OF BRUHL! *Cries* now the 20 man squads begin.

And that last bit is kinda ironic.

When it comes to it, I'll give you names and whatnot, along with our potentials (nearly forgot) and rank.


	8. it's my choice

Ok, it's not this but next chapter when I bring up squad and potentials

Chapter 7:

It's my choice…

* * *

_James filled me in on what happened on his side of things._

_He stayed outside of the house as Welkin charged in._

_He saved Isara and Marta from two imperials. Isara saved him as well._

_And then, they took the Edelweiss, the pair's fathers' tank, to help us out._

* * *

After about two days on the road, we finally arrived at our destination: Randgriz, the capital city of Galia. It was a majestic city, built inside of walls made during the days of castles and lords. As we rode in, I looked around, admiring the beauty and architecture of this brilliant place.

"If you look ahead of us" Welkin shouted. I did so, seeing a massive castle with 3 towers. "That is Castle Randgriz, with the unicorn spire!"

"Wow!" was all I could shout back. I was massively interested in castles and the like. This was basically heaven to me.

"Welkin, where are we meant to go?" James asked…he had a point, as we were near the gate.

"Well, unless you two are going to enlist, you should go into town and get a room" he told us, smiling. "If you're going to enlist, we'll see you at the camp" I was about to say something when James butted in.

"Nice knowing you Welkin, Alicia, Isara" he told them, riding off. I watched him, then turning to the tank.

"Good luck!" I shouted, biking after James.

* * *

The streets of Randgriz were clear of rubbish, water and…people. The streets were eerily quiet as we rode through them. James stopped outside a building which, from the look of the sign, was a tavern/pub/inn of some kind. The 'Unicorn's shadow' was written in bold letters on the sign.

To skip a few minor details, the barman gave us a room for two, and what few thing we had were taken into the room. James took his bed, placing his rifle in front of him and getting what looked like a maintenance kit out. I place my gun on my bed, taking every military thing off then heading to the window.

"Are you going to go enlist?" I asked him, opening the window and leaning on the ledge. what was weird was that the street we looked out onto had people in it...quite a lot of them.

"I don't know" he told me. I felt him looking at me. "But you are definitely not allowed to" what?

"Did you just say what I think you said?!" I shouted at him. He nodded, looking away as he took the bullets out of his rifle. "Why?"

"You're not right for it" what did you just… "You wouldn't be able to handle the lifestyle they lead. You definitely couldn't take the discipline"

"How dare you" I said to him, walking in front of him. "HOW DARE YOU!"

"Do you think this is something that you can take to easily?" I shook my head. "Well done"

"Get to the point"

"You have to take orders, eat what they give you to eat, work hard, dodge bullets literally, and kill people" he stopped whatever he was doing, looking straight at me. "You couldn't take it"

"James, I could and you know it" this is basically how it is back home when I say about wanting to be in the military. "And besides, you can't follow a simple order to help people"

"What makes you say that?"

"BACK AT BRUHL! YOU WERE TOLD BY WELKIN TO HELP US!!!" the wooden floorboards around the floor started creaking as I presume people heard me. "I WANT TO FIGHT!"

"Well guess what. You're not going to under my watch!" he walked over to the door, locking it. "That is what Mum would want"

"When did you care what Mum would want?" I asked him, lying down on my bed in frustration.

"Since we got here" he kicked the door before walking over to me. "So then dipshit, I'm boss until we get back" I grunted my response. I don't care what you say, I'm joining. "Right, what do you want for dinner?"

"I'm not hungry" I told him, looking away from him.

He unlocked the door, walking out and locking it back up. Hah, like I'm gonna stay here. I'm not going to abandon my friends. I got up, grabbing my things and putting them back on. I shoved my gun on my back, so that it was along my chest from my right shoulder down to my left leg, this way I wouldn't have to move it.

Right then, time to do this. I tried the door, finding that it was a lot harder then I first thought. And that is good for a wooden door. I didn't want to break this place, so plan B. I looked out the window, looking around it, hoping that it would have some way of escape.

To the left of the window was a flagpole. Along from it just out of grabbing distance was another pole. Below that, and not to far forward was another. below the third pole was a truck of some sort. Like a farming one, with the back covered. That would be a perfect landing spot. It's soft and I can get down from it without injury.

"Here goes nothing" I said to myself, climbing onto the window ledge and grabbing the pole with my left hand. I breathed in, setting myself up. I jumped from the window, grabbing the pole with my right arm, swinging backwards and forwards from the momentum.

I kept it going, groaning as my hands hurt. Wow, am I really that heavy? I looked forward, seeing the next pole. I swung my legs, trying to get some more momentum to get to grab the next one.

I let go as I swung forward, throwing my hand out to try and grab the next one. I only just grabbed the cold slippery wet steel, nearly losing my grip as my weight followed from my hand. I groaned, reaching out with my other hand to grab on. I slipped, my left hand going. Thank god my right was on there. I reached back up, grabbing the pole again.

"Come on Craig, just one more" I said to myself. I looked down at the straight, my first mistake, seeing people down below looking at me. "Hello" I said to them. I steeled myself, ignoring the fall. This was the third story of a building. Now to get down a floor.

I looked at the next pole, swinging forward a bit in order to try and make the difference. My god this is starting to turn into Assassin's creed…except with firearms…and in some –other- foreign land. I let go as I swung forward, falling just within reach as my fingers hit the bar. Some of the Ragnaid capsule broke off from my belt. I, unintentionally but accurately, counted how long it took to fall.

5 seconds, landing on the truck…still far enough to hurt a lot.

Still, that would be easier and quicker…and would draw less attention then this. I'm surprised James hasn't seen me yet. The truck was just a little more forward then I thought. My feet just within reach. I swung forward a bit, hoping it would help.

"Come on" I said to myself, swinging a bit more. Still not close enough. "Come on!" I looked down, seeing a bigger crowd. Scanning the crowd quickly, I couldn't see James. Thank god. I swung a bit more, letting go as I reached the peak of the swing. I landed cleanly on the top of the truck, rolling for show.

"And that's how we do it" I said to myself. The crowd started applauding me, to which I smiled and waved, running off the truck, grabbing the ragnaid capsule as I did so, to the front of the inn. "James is gonna be angry when he finds out how I got out"

The bike I had used was still there. James must have taken his and done…something. I looked at the ignition section to mine.

No key.

"You son of a…" don't finish that sentence Craig. He IS your brother, finishing that is insulting you. Good point me. "Ugly git" better.

"Hey kid!" I heard someone shout. They had this kinda mature sound to their voice. I turned around, seeing a man about 4 years my senior, wearing what I guessed was a military uniform. It was blue with a red strip down the side. He was in a car, the same blue radiator sticking out the back. "Nice show earlier" I spied a sniper rifle sticking out behind him.

"Thanks" I told him, smiling. Hang on, here's an idea. "You couldn't give me a lift could you?"

"Depends where"

"I was wondering if you could give me a lift to the enlistment…place?" what, I don't know the proper name. He sighed, raising a hand.

"Get in"

* * *

Then, to skip a few more details, as you don't need to know the silent long trip. Honestly, the only conversation we had was basically a retelling of what happened at Bruhl through a third person without the exact details. It mentioned the town guard taking heavy casualties as they held back the imperials. Like I said, no specifics, no mention of the Edelweis.

When we eventually got to the camp, as I found out it was along the way, I got out, the guy driving off to drop the car back off. I looked at the camp, seeing a selection of, what I guess are, military buildings. A barracks, an assault course, a massive long building that looked like it was for the offices and such.

"This place looks nice" I said to myself, walking in. I saw a long line of people, some armed with weapons, others not. A majority of them were younger then 25. Occasionally someone looked older, but not many. At the front of the line was a soldier with a book and a pen. People would say their name, he'd jot it down and then ask for age, then a job would be assigned.

I joined the back of the queue, standing behind two…well; I'll be blunt, odd looking people. One had blue clothes, as if he was from some desert or otherwise hot place. On his right cheek was a small scar of some kind, as if from a cut, and his right eye had a goggle on it. His hair was a neat black and on his back were a pair of, I presume, cutlasses.

The other was almost the same…odd. She had a yellow shirt with some shorts on. Her right hand was covered with a glove and her hair…well, you know how ponytails go? She had two, tied up going at 90 degree angles to each other. She had a set of goggles on her head, along with a boomerang of sorts in her pocket. The one with the scar groaned.

"How much longer can they take?" he moaned, stretching his arms upwards. The one with the double ponytail hair looked at him.

"We're nearly there now Vyse" she told him, scratching her cheek.

"I know, but I just want to see Fina again" 'Vyse' replied. I raised an eyebrow.

"She's fine, remember. She sent us the letter"

"I know, Aika, but it's just the waiting I hate"

"Tell me about" I said to them, crossing my arms as the queue moved forward once. "Once you get through the waiting, it seems to be a lot better"

"That's what I'm talking about" 'Vyse' turned to me and spoke.

"I don't mind the wait, it's putting up with him I mind" 'Aika' replied, elbowing 'Vyse' playfully in the stomach

"It's not my fault Aika" if I don't say it now, I'm never gonna learn their names either…possibly.

"My name's Craig…Appleby" I told them, holding my hand out.

"Name's Vyse Inglebard" he told me, shaking my hand.

"Aika Thomson" she gave me five, smiling.

"And I'm guessing Fina is a relative of yours" Random guess.

"She's a brilliant friend of ours, helping out the war effort as a medic"

"It's been so long since we last saw her" Vyse chipped in. he then randomly punched his hand, cracking his knuckles. "And I intend to kill this war in the teeth"

I nodded, the queue moving again, this time a lot quickly. Before I knew it, Aika was at the front. The soldier lazily looked at her.

"Name" he spoke

"Aika Thomson" Aika replied.

"Age"

"17" wow, my age.

"You look like a scout" the soldier told her. The soldier pointed her to one of the barracks, Aika nodding.

"See you later Vyse, Craig" she told us, running off.

"Later Aika" I replied. Vyse now in front of the queue.

This basically went through me and Vyse as well. He was 17, same as Aika and myself. We both got the same role of shocktrooper, getting directed to another barracks. We walked together, chatting about what life here would be like and…well…

"If I may ask; what's with the blades?" I asked him. He smiled, pulling them out of there sheathes.

"These?" he asked. I nodded. "These were my weapons back in Arcadia"

"Arcadia?"

"You remember reading in the Gallian about Valua being taken by the imperials" I nodded, that was one of the major headlines as it was a trade route. "That's part of Arcadia…" he put the blades back, clenching his fist. "We never stood a chance on foot"

"So you're here to make sure that doesn't happen here, right?" I asked him. He nodded. "That's very noble"

"It's what Dyne would have wanted"

We walked into the barracks, seeing sets of uniform set up so that one person could grab the whole set in one go and not interrupt another pile. I grabbed mine, Vyse grabbed his.

You know how you imagine the barracks to be in the army. Bunk beds with enough room to sleep and bugger all else…yeah, that's how these were. Vyse went into another section, as did I. both of us getting changed.

The uniform was tight, and felt kinda heavy. It was blue with a red strip down the sides. We had flaps on the elbows, shoulders and legs and bloody thick boots. Mine don't really compare to these. When we were done, we both walked out, comparing.

"It's quite heavy" I commented, doing a few squats.

"I think we'll get used to it. Just like we'll get used to the firearms" he told me. Something told me his experience with the swords would transfer into that kind of knowledge. There was a knock at the door.

"Guys, you do realise we have to find out which squad we're assigned to" she told us. We looked at each other, gathering our things. "This is Squad 1 of the central army's barracks"

"Thanks Aika!" I shouted back, opening the door, Vyse close behind me. "So where do we go?"

"Apparently Captain Varrot handles the Milita troops" she told me. She was wearing another uniform, like ours, but not so bulky. So shocktroopers wear the heavy stuff and scouts are lighter. Makes sense.

"Let's go then" Vyse told us, running off.

"Wait up!" I shouted, running after him, Aika alongside.

* * *

_Was I right to climb out? I don't know_

_Was James right to boss me around? No_

_Either way, Aika and Vyse are nice people._

_If I had followed James' orders, I wouldn't have met them…_

_Nor would anything else have happened._

* * *

We can soon meet the rest of the squad. Yay

I know 4 members definitely being in, not including the obviously 4 (Welkin, Alicia, Rosie and Largo) so we have 10 more spaces. (the 4 core members, the 4 i know about and me and james)

Such a nice day.

10 members needed to balance the army. Joy.

still, at least i have some idea of who to bring.

might annoy some people though


	9. the birth of squad 7

Whilst making the squad, I've learnt one thing:

It's hard to make a truly balanced squad…

You'll see when you find out who's in.

And is Faldio's last name right?

Chapter 8

The birth of squad 7.

* * *

_The hallways of the main building were long and seemed to stretch out to infinity._

_Somehow, through all of this, Aika, Vyse and I made our way through the place_

_Ending up outside the office of captain Varrot._

* * *

"Well, no time like the present" I said to myself. Vyse and Aika were behind me as we walked in. the room was quite spacious, a desk in front of a large window had a selection of documents shuffled around it. The woman at the desk wearing glasses with neat black hair held her hands together as we walked in, watching us. We stood in a neat line in front of her, doing a salute then standing smartly.

"Vyse Inglebard, reporting for duty" Vyse told Varrot.

"Aika Thomson, reporting for duty" Aika echoed.

"Craig Appleby, reporting for duty" I finished. We lowered our hands, holding them to our sides. She moved her glasses back, adjusting them to get a good look at us.

"So you're here to join the militia?" she asked. We all nodded. "Very well…report to the mess hall, the squad leaders will be assigned their squads at 1400 hours" she stood up, walking around, giving us the feel that she was used to this. "Inglebard, Thomson, you are dismissed. Appleby, I will talk to you alone"

Oh Christ, not already. Aika and Vyse nodded, walking out, closing the door behind them. I didn't hear them walking away, so I guess they are waiting at the door. Varrot went back to her wooden chair, going back to her earlier stance.

"I've heard of your exploits at Bruhl" she told me. Oh that. "Along with Gunther, Malchiott and the town guard" so are they here? "The people upstairs thought fit to give you three higher ranks"

"Excuse me?" I started. She held her hand up, silencing me.

"Private Appleby, you are hereby promoted to Corporal" ok, that was quick. If I climb the ranks this quickly, then head of the military isn't too far away. Hah.

"Wow…that was sudden" I told her. She smiled, pushing her glasses back again.

"According to what I've heard, it's what you and your brother deserve for what you did in Bruhl" that and about a year off and some nice drinks and about two thousand pounds.

"Thank you…I guess"

"The squads will still need assembling, so get going" she told me, looking at the clock. "You have 5 minutes. Dismissed"

I nodded, walking out. I closed the oaken door behind me, Vyse and Aika hanging around. They heard everything, walking with me to the mess hall.

"So you were at Bruhl?" Vyse asked. I nodded, looking at him.

"Why?" I replied, looking between the pair.

"Bruhl was apparently an example of what to do if outnumbered and doomed" Aika told me. "Well, according to the others"

"We did what any other person would do in our shoes" I looked ahead, smiling. "We fought to let others escape…losing good men in the meanwhile" the image of that soldier riddled with Shrapnel, and then the other soldier with the spear of wood sticking out of his chest flashed in my mind. They seemed to sense my discomfort, dropping the subject.

"So who do you think will be our squad leader?" Vyse asked. I shook my head.

"No idea. I just hope whoever it is, they aren't some posh git who leads from the back" think World War 1, the trench warfare was led by people from the back, who didn't have a clue what was really going on at the frontline.

"That's a good point" Aika told me. She looked at Vyse. "Didn't we know someone like that?"

"Not that I can think of" Vyse replied.

We eventually got to the mess hall, comprised of loads of tables with loads of chairs each, much like a canteen back home. People were talking noisily all around the place, some spoke about previous experiences, others jobs and others family. I looked around, not seeing James.

I saw three chairs spare on an otherwise full table at the back, pointing them out to Vyse and Aika. We all took them, a conversation next to us in full swing. One of them was a Darcsen, her neat, black hair surrounding her head. She had loads of equipment on her. A set of engineers tools, a backpack full of loads of things and a few larger ragnaid capsules. She had this caring voice to her.

The person she was talking to was very familiar. You remember the girl from Bruhl with blond hair. Susie Evans I believe. That's who the other one was.

"So why do you fight?" She asked the Darcsen. She looked at her conversation partner.

"I fight to keep Gallia safe" she replied. She looked at Susie with fire in her eyes. "It doesn't matter if your Gallian or Darcsen, you should fight for your home and friends"

"But what if the imperials should win, then what?"

"They won't win, not as long as we keep fighting" I nodded in silent agreement. Susie looked at me, smiling.

"Craig?" she asked. I nodded, smiling at her.

"I was wondering how long it would take until you realised who I was" I told her. "How've you been since Bruhl?"

"Good considering what has happened" she looked down at the table, sadness in her eyes. "Some Imperials got around the gate, shooting some civilians on the run…"

"I get the picture" poor girl, the civilians she was guarding were mercilessly shot by the enemy. "Well, your still here. We can still fight" she nodded, looking at the person next to me.

"Oh yeah. Craig, I would like you to meet Nadine" she pointed to the Darcsen. We both looked at each other.

"Nice to meet you" I told her, holding my hand out.

"Nice to meet you too" she replied, shaking my hand. I looked at Vyse and Aika, who were subtlety smiling at me.

"Oh yeah. Susie, Nadine, I'd like you to meet Vyse and Aika" I told them, the pair nodded, engaging in conversation almost immediately.

We chatted for a while, getting to know each other. After a while, we saw some people in officer's clothing walking in. a blue hat along with smart blue clothing. These guys had a map on their fronts, along with what looked like flares trailing behind them. I looked at the group, not recognising anyone.

"Stand to attention!" Varrot shouted. Man I didn't see her coming in. Everyone stood up, facing her and listening intently. Good thing I played those war games, as that's the only reason I know these routines. Everyone was deathly silent as we waited. "Now, these men are your squad leaders" she told us, pacing in front of the officers. "These men are all talented commanders, all worthy of their ranks of lieutenant. I expect each and every one of you to follow the orders of these men to the grave" she stopped before hitting the wall, turning to us. "We are all members of the Militia, the irregulars, the common man of the army" she walked back to the centre, looking deathly serious. "We want everyone to come home alive and well after the war. I'm placing my faith in the commanders to do so" she stood to one side, turning about and looking at the officers.

"Commander Faldio Lanzaat" a man with dirty blond hair, sticking out behind him. He called out 20 names, Susie being one of them.

"Good luck" she told us. I waved her off. As she and the rest of her squad walked to be briefed.

And that's how it went, with 5 more commanders coming along, doing the same, then walking off. I for one was glad to be among the last few. Vyse, Aika and Nadine weren't called either.

"Lieutenant Welkin Gunther" Welkin? The young man stepped forward, getting a list out.

"I require the following people, to join my squad 7" he told us. 7, a lucky number. Sounds nice. "Alicia Malchiott" Alicia stepped out from the remainder of the crowd, now in scout gear, but still wearing her hair scarf thing. "Bridgette Stark" a young woman, no older then 23, stepped out from the crowd. Her face was spotless, and her ginger hair had two balls tied off, hanging upwards…look, I can't remember what they are called, alright.

"Largo Potter" a large man stepped out from the crowd. He looked old, with short black hair all over his face. He had heavier armour on, with a shield of all things on his left arm, protecting his left side.

This carried on for 14 more names, Nadine and Vyse among them. Aika and I were left with 3 more names left to fit in the squad. I hoped we'd get in. Welkin breathed in, looking at the next name.

"James Appleby" huh? I recoiled, seeing my brother walk out from the crowd, wearing Sniper gear and carrying his rifle behind him. I hid behind Aika as James walked by Welkin, not registering me. Phew, thank god. "Aika Thomson" she stepped out, waving to me as she ran to where everyone else was going. Now, with one name left, who would be the last member of Squad 7?

"Craig Appleby" Oh thank god…phew. I thought I'd be left without my friends in a new squad lot. I stepped out, following everyone else. We went to another corridor, Vyse, Aika and Nadine waiting for me.

"That was close" I told them, breathing a sigh of relief. They all smiled at me. Nadine stopped first.

"That man who came by with the rifle" she started.

"You mean James?" I asked. She nodded. "That's my brother. He's a good sniper and helped at Bruhl. Main flaw is that he wants to be boss"

"Ok…at least we know"

"He didn't want me to sign up…something about what Mum would have wanted…that's a load of bull. I know she would have wanted us to stay safe, yes, but she would have wanted us to do what's right"

"Craig…"

"If it wasn't for the fact that we were in this army together…I would be punching him straight in the face for doing what he didn't want me to do" you lead by example, not just orders.

"Just tell me if you need help with him" Vyse told me, smiling with one eye closed. "I'll be happy to help you out"

"And don't forget me" Aika chipped in.

"Thanks guys, but I don't think you'll be needed" I told them, walking closer. "Now, what do you say we go to our new digs?"

They all nodded, Nadine stretching before we all walked. It had been a long day. It'll be nice to have a nice bed under me. When we got to our new barracks, we found it was just one single barracks, set up for 20 people. Seems like we're all sticking together in this. Everyone was choosing a bunk, putting stuff around them and jumping on or in. I grabbed a top Bunk, Aika taking one below me, with Vyse opposite and Nadine above him. We got the one closest to the door. I looked around, seeing James at the other end. Welkin standing at the end, Alicia at his side.

"Everyone!" he shouted. Everyone paid attention to him, even James. "Welcome to squad 7" we all nodded. "I know we are all scared of what may or may not happen out there, but we all have to stick together through all of this" we all nodded, agreeing. "So, get to know each other. That person you become friends with might be the person covering your back in the field"

He had a point. Vyse might be the one saving my ass out there. It's best if we at least get along, after all, I know that we're gonna have to.

"So get to know each other tonight, and tomorrow, we'll get started on training" he told us. He had his own bunk, as did Alicia and…I'm guessing Isara, as there is a spare Bunk above the guy next to me. I looked at him, seeing 'Largo'.

"Your name's Largo, right?" I asked him. He looked at me, looking serious.

"Yeah, that's me" he crossed his arms, putting a cigar in his mouth. "What about you?"

"Craig. It's nice to meet you Largo" I held my hand out, to which he shook it. "It'll be nice to work with you"

"Yeah, I get it kid" he looked to the next bunk, where a woman who looked young, with brown hair and a kind of Irish voice was talking to someone. "Cathrine, you still serving I see"

"Yes Largo" she replied, looking at the man. "It's been a while since EW1" I learnt that was Europa War 1. "How's your life been?"

"Normal…doing a bit of farming here and there…not the same as before though" Cathrine looked at me, smiling.

"Hello. I'm Cathrine O'Hara" she told me, saluting. Even her name sounds Irish. "I hope to be of assistance in the field"

"My name's Craig, and nice to meet you"

One thing I do know…this is gonna take a while…only 12 more people to say hello to. But to shorten things down, here's the shortened version.

"Marina Wulfstan" the black haired loner quietly spoke, her hair covering her right eye. "At your service" she had a sniper rifle at her side. She never smiled, that was the disturbing thing.

"Call me Wavy" a Darcsen wearing glasses with an aged look to him spoke. He had a normal rifle. "I'll keep you safe" he seemed like the guardian type if I may so comment.

"Please, call me Lynn" a young, nice looking, Darcsen with a ponytail told me. She saluted me. "I hope to be of assistance in the field" she seems kind.

"Hector here" a tall, armour wearing, black haired man told me. He looked strong, to say the least. "I'll blow any tank away" he had a weird lance with him which I learnt was a LANCAAR (some kind of Acronym. I think it stands for LANCe- shaped anti-Armour device…but then, with that, wouldn't sound as good being an LSAAD) it was the basic anti-tank weapon. I looked at Largo, seeing another one.

"Hi Hon" a young girl with a style to her hair so that it stuck out to the side. "Ramona at your service" she looked beautiful. I had heard tales of her sneaking out at night to party.

"I'm Edy Nilson" A girl with grey hair, not from age but from some kinda dye, draped down to her shoulders. "Always ready to help darlings" she sounded annoying.

"My name is Knute Jung" an older, neat brown haired engineer told me, pushing his glasses back. "and I am prepared to lay my body down for Gallia"

"Audrey here" she told me. She had blond hair twirling around her head, and looked weak…then I was surprised to learn one major fact.

She was a lancer. "I'll be ready to move" I was sure I was nearly through the list of people who joined up.

"Howdy, I'm Ted" a black, spiky haired scout told me. "I've got plenty of material to entertain" seems he's a bit of a joker.

"Hey buddy" Alex, a young blond shocktrooper started. He had an odd orange streak in his hair. "Ready to kick some Imperial tail"

I think that's everyone I haven't met. Shame the intros were so short. I walked up to Welkin, Alicia…and James, smiling.

"Well, Welkin, seems like we have a number of characters here" I told him. "Or should I call you boss…or lieutenant?"

"Boss will do" he told me, waving his hands defensively. "But I'm still Welkin, the same one you met at Bruhl"

"That good to know" I turned to Alicia. "So what rank did you get?"

"I'm 2nd in command" she told me, smiling. I was taken aback. To get 2nd in command straight away was a big deal.

"Nice" was all I could say. I looked around, wondering where Isara was.

"Is is taking care of the Edelweiss in the R and D centre" Welkin told me. I nodded, looking back at him. "She'll be back before the nights done"

I nodded, going back to my bunk, ignoring James. He told me not to do this, yet he's doing it himself. I'm going to leave him alone for a while.

* * *

_Squad 7…but would we be the lucky 7's?_

_Either way, our survival would come down to more then just luck_

_But with this number of…characters…_

_Something tells me this is gonna be an entertaining war._

* * *

Anyway, I owe you potentials, after all this is the army.

Both James and myself have two hidden and two obvious potentials

The two obvious for James are:

City kid: boost in abilities in paved areas.

Camaraderie: having units of the same class around enhances accuracy.

Craig's… or rather, mine:

Sibling rivalry: having James around leads to a rise in determination, raising defence and attack.

night confidence: sight is unimpeded by darkness, and gives a small confidence boost, raising accuracy.

Someone tell me if you disagree with these 4, I'll understand if you do, and might actually change them if you can give a good reason. Do note that Craig…I'm not panicky after Bruhl, having already seen a lot of death and gotten used to combat. James is too far away from the battle to be worried. I don't think I'm a born leader, James most certainly isn't, he just likes to boss people around, but isn't a bully either.

Also, do note this now; neither of us are going to have a valkyria potential. For one, we already have Alicia. I have other plans for us.

And for another thing, there is only one lance and shield in Gallia, not including Selvaria's. So how can we be Valkyria?

I'm trying to avoid Stu territory here, people.

to one particular person, how was she?

Finally (and I do mean finally) something tells me a list of 22/ 23/ 26 people is going to be entertaining.


	10. first orders

Two people have giving me great tips on how to keep this story go. I should be able to get some good reading done by the end of this fic…forgive me if I'm being overconfident.

And, so determined am I, I actually set the game up and wrote down the stats of the Gallian weapons. As in clip size, length, calibre and so on. And might I say *looks at the Machine gun details* some of it is surprising. For example, the T-MAG is lighter then the MAG-XX. Which considering it has a bigger clip and a tank loading mechanism is surprising…at least to me.

Chapter 9:

First orders

* * *

_Let's see, first day in the militia, along with first few friends in the squad, and first day of training._

_Joy…well, apart from the last bit._

_Then again, I guess I can see what the other guys are like during all of this._

* * *

As Welkin had said, Isara turned up; too late to start introducing herself as we started settling down for the night. We were forced to get up at around 6 am, which, considering my off sleeping patterns normally and the fact that my dreams were plagued with the image of the soldier with the wooden 'spear' through his chest, along with some rather bad ones concerning squad 7, I barely made it to sleep..

I awoke to a loud siren of trumpets being blasted around the camp. Most of the squad were out of bed by the time I had even sat up, rubbing my eyes. Vyse and Aika stretched, whilst Nadine strapped her engineer bags on her belt. I jumped down, smiling whilst rubbing my eyes.

"Morning" I told them. They grunted something back, obviously not fully awake yet. "Anyone get more then 3 hours sleep?" another few grunts. "Same here"

"You'll get used to it" Largo told me. I looked him, seeing him swing his arms around. Isara had to dodge his arms every so often.

We all walked out, setting out for the mess hall for breakfast. Considering myself, Aika, Vyse and Nadine were among the first out, we seemed to be the last in the queue, as we got passed by people wanting to get some food. We had a chat about what was going on beyond the walls of the camp.

Now, this is one thing that amazed me. as we hit the topic, Nadine pulled a newspaper from one of her bags, opening it up. 'The Gallian' Gallia's number 1 public newspaper (which shouldn't be boasted as it is the ONLY public newspaper) she started reading it.

"Last night brought terrible news to the people of Gallia as the Imperial forces took Vasel, a main trade route to the city of Randgriz" she read out loud. This didn't sound good. "The city is now placed under quarantine until the army can remove the imperial threat from the city" she looked at us, ending the news reading.

"So Vasel fell" Vyse commented. I looked away, thinking about the news. With Vasel down, we'd have little food coming in from now on. Aika had a look at the paper, grabbing it out of Nadine's hands.

"Hey look, something about the militia" she exclaimed. Nadine looked annoyed, obviously taking it rudely. "The Gallian Militia is joining the central armies force as the Irregular army" Vyse and myself smiled, hearing the news. "In these desperate times, even the common man and woman are being drawn up to reinforce the front as we buckle under the strain of the imperial army. Chancellor Borg, aide to the young princess Cordellia, has put out the call despite the protests of General Damon's protests that the central army can handle the enemy"

"However, with the call to arms by the government, we now find ourselves with one question burning to be answered by the 'great general': if you could do with what you had before, why are we in this mess now?"

"What a great way to build morale" I sarcastically told them.

We came into the mess hall, getting our food (some meat, some salad, some beans, and some water) and sitting down. Along with our little group of four, next to us was Marina, the loner, Catherine, the veteran, and Bridgette, the…erm…you know, I really don't know.

"Things are going to get entertaining" Vyse commented, sitting down. Catherine, Marina and Bridgette looked at him.

"What makes you say that, kiddo?" Bridgette asked. Vyse smiled, getting his fork and getting a bit of meat.

"Vasel's under Imperial control. With that, we either leave it and lose, or take it back and win" he ate the meat, swallowing it after a bit of chewing. "Which is going to be a challenge…" he chuckled a bit to himself, looking upwards whilst getting some more food. I raised an eyebrow, wondering if Vyse was sane.

"Back home, Vyse travelled our world" Aika told us, smiling. "Me and Fina were alongside him just about every step of the way" she ate a bit of her food, swallowing her veg. "it was a grand adventure…and we wouldn't have it any other way"

"I take it you know the medic then" Catherine commented. Aika and Vyse nodding.

"She is part of the reason their here" I told her. She nodded, smiling.

"It's always good to have friends"

"Distractions…" Marina spoke quietly. "…Especially him" she pointed to someone. I looked and saw who it was…Ted, the Clown.

"What's wrong with Ted?" Nadine asked. Marina looked at her through her hair.

"He's noisy…" she simply said. Ted then started telling some joke.

"Someone said to me 'Ted, what's wrong with this bike, it feels rusty'. Well, I told him 'that's not a bike, that an imperial tank'" he finished, the group around him laughing like hell at the joke. "And you heard the one about Maximillion? Apparently he took Firald and Tugstien. I heard the story differently from the front. Apparently he took –firm hold- and –took Stein- for a walk" the group around him kept laughing. The comedian bowed, sitting back down. I looked at Marina.

"Ok, maybe he's bad for snipers trying to sneak around, but when your fighting, it's good to put the enemy off" I told her.

"Irrelevant…" she told me. What is she? Some robot?

"Either way, it's good to have a laugh when not in combat" Bridgette replied. I looked at her, nodding and then realising something.

"I don't believe we've been introduced" I told her, holding my hand out. "Craig Appleby, shocktrooper" I spied Vyse out of the corner of my eye attempting to steal some of my food. "Do, and lose a finger" he kept on going, so I smacked his hand. He pulled back, giving up.

"Bridgette Stark" she shook my hand. "But call me Rosie" Rosie…what a nice nickname. "Can I ask you something?" I nodded, pulling my hand back. "You see him in the corner with Ramona, Knute and Edy" I turned around, seeing James.

"What's James done this time?" I asked, turning back to Rosie. She looked at me, surprised I had guessed.

"He's your brother, right?" I nodded. "Well, you don't seem too…brotherly"

"We both have our issues" I told her. "But when the chips are down" I plunged my fork into the table just in front of Vyse's hand, seeing him trying again. "We work together"

She nodded, then her face turning to disgust as she saw something behind me. I turned around, seeing nothing apart from Nadine. I looked between the pair, seeing Rosie not moving at all.

"Darcsen pig" she told her. Nadine looked at her, confused. "You dirty blue haired freak" what did Nadine do? "Why don't you go join your other filthy friends over there!" she pointed to a table where Lynn and Wavy sat, the pair talking to Welkin, Alicia and Isara.

"Why should I?" Nadine asked, looking at Rosie. "No one else on this table has an issue with me, only you" she pointed at Rosie. "Why don't you move?"

"Because I'm normal, I'm not responsible for the biggest catastrophe the world has ever seen" ok, that's enough.

"Rosie, back off" I told her. Rosie looked at me, anger in her eyes.

"Why should I?"

"Because she is human, just like you and me" I lowered my eyebrows, looking seriously at her. "So calm down and leave her be"

"So you would defend a Filthy pig!" she shouted. I nodded.

"She is no Filthy pig" I told her, trying to keep calm. "So calm down or move…or both"

She gritted her teeth, grabbing her stuff and moving away to the table hosting Ted and company. I turned back around, looking between the table crew.

"Well, she seems to hate…" I looked at my plate, seeing half of my food gone. "…people" I looked up, seeing Vyse looking away. "Vyse?" he turned around, his cheeks puffing out as he chewed the meat. "Why?"

"I vat flumpy" it sounded like, but I know he said 'I was hungry'. I placed my face in my palm.

"Vyse" great, I was enjoying that. "You owe me now"

I talked to the guys as they continued eating, lamenting the lose of my meal. Eventually, as they finished, we packed up, getting ready to start the day. Welkin stood up at the main table, everyone turning to him.

"As you may or may not have heard Vasel fell to the enemy a few nights past" he told us. I stood up, looking around, seeing no one talking. "Well, it's true…and our squad has been given its first order" wow that was quick "Squad 7 is to retake Vasel with the help of squad 1, led by commander Landzaat" Faldio's squad…Susie. "Along with a detachment from the Central army" so we get to see the pros in action eh? "We're getting our weapons from Kreis and Leon of R and D. so far we haves mags for the shocktroopers, Gallians for the scouts and engineers, GSR model sniper rifles and Lancaar class anti-tank lances" I smiled, not knowing what exactly that meant, but still… "We leave tomorrow at midday, be ready to march"

James ran over to me as soon as the speech was over, grabbing my collar and dragging me out. He stopped when we were outside, looking angry.

"I thought I told you to stay in the room" he told me, somehow sounding calm.

"You lead by example…and you couldn't keep me locked in that room forever" I replied. I swatted his hand off my collar, standing up.

"If you remember…"

"I do remember Mum thank you very much!" I shouted, turning to him. "And don't try the emotional treatment now!"

"You are going to pull out of this unit…"

"OR what? Your going to make me?" I paced around him. "You're not the boss James"

"I am of you"

"Under whose authority"

"The Gallian Militia, under the powers of Corporal, I can use it to fire people of lower rank, so long as I have a valid reason" he smiled, turning to me. Well, seems you're getting desperate James. I for one know that to be a lie. "Last I checked, you weren't one, so you're fired" he looked down. "Trust me, it's for your own good" yeah, right. I'm here to keep you safe now.

"I hate to tell you, but I'm a corporal as well" he looked surprised at this. "Now shut up and let me do my job"

I tried to walk away, James grabbing my shoulder.

"I will make you go" he told me, punching me in the gut. "Through peaceful or violent means" well at least he's honest. I recoiled, backing up, feeling the wind leaving me.

"James…I'm not going to" I told him. I throw an upper cut at him, hitting him square in the chin. "I have to fight for Gallia" he tried to get another shot in, getting stopped by someone grabbing his arm. Behind him, I saw Hector, looking angry, with Vyse and Aika behind him.

"Are you going to finish that?" he asked. He towered over me, and I was taller then James. "Because if you do, I'm going to have to deal with you"

James yanked his arm out of Hector's grip, walking off into the distance. I looked at Hector, seeing him looking at James.

"Thank Hector" I turned to Vyse and Aika. "Thanks you two"

"Your welcome" they told me. Hector just nodded.

"Considering you two are brothers, he sure is malicious to you" Hector told me. I nodded, turning to watch James.

"He's my brother" I told him. "I can understand the over protectiveness, but not the method"

Vyse looked at my face, seeing something I didn't. he wiped a hand on my chin, showing it to me. Blood was on it. Ok, he definitely did a lot more harm then I thought.

"Let's get you to the medic" Aika told me, grabbing my Arm. "Fina will patch you up, then we can get your weapons"

* * *

_James is definitly overprotective of me, but why the violence and methods._

_Maybe in some other lifetime, he'd have an effect._

_But not now._

_At least I get to see the medic…and the R and D guys_

* * *

Right, I remember being asked this by a someone oh here. You know the medic does those runs and doesn't get shot at once? Well, I asked James (he's not that bad in real life, but he is close) and he had a good answer to it which I might use.

Either that or have her set up as an engineer with SUPER POWERFUL RAGNAID, no grenades and no engineer tools.


	11. training

Chapter 10

Training.

* * *

_I don't blame James for punching me. I think he's looking out for me in his way._

_The thing that stuck in my head was Rosie's treatment of Nadine_

_She hates Darcsens with a passion, too much to be natural._

_Have Darcsens really done that much wrong?_

* * *

After getting dragged to the medic by Aika, with Vyse and Hector following along, I found myself sitting down on a nice comfortable medical bed. Fina, the squad medic, a young woman about our age (that's Aika, Vyse and myself) with short blond hair and a hair band, She wore engineers gear, with a symbol on her back of a medic, was checking me over, making sure nothing had been damaged.

"So your telling me this was a little punch-up between you and your brother" Fina summarised. I nodded, looking at Hector.

"If not for Hector I reckon we'd have had a proper fight" I told her. I smiled at the lancer. "Thanks mate"

"Any time" he told me.

"Well, so far it looks like you're alright" Fina told me. She pulled a syringe filled with an opaque blue liquid from one of her bags. "I'm going to have to give you a quick shot of Ragnaide, just to be sure that there is no internal damage"

Oh no! Not the needle! Anything but the needle! I stood up, backing up from the medic. She looked confused as she pressed down on the end, to make sure it wasn't blocked. A thin stream of the stuff flying out and splashing on the ground.

"I think I'm alright" I quickly say, continuing to back up. Aika, Vyse and Hector were now in front of me. "I think I'll go…do some…stuff" I turn around, about to leave the room when…

"GRAB HIM!!" Vyse shouts.

I try to run, but feel someone tackle me to the ground. Two more people join in, holding my arms and legs apart, the right side of my face firmly planted on the ground. I saw Hector holding my chest, Vyse and Aika keeping my arms and legs still. Each one had an evil look on his or her face. Aika rolls my right sleeve up, holding it so my shoulder was uncovered. Fina walks up, looking eviler if that were possible. She holds the syringe in her hands, smiling.

"Keep that thing away from me!" I shout. She walks up to me, holding the needle right next to my skin.

"This won't hurt a bit" she tells me. The others laugh evilly as I open my eyes wide. If you can't tell, I'm scared of syringes with a passion if that makes sense.

"Nooooooo!" I shout, feeling the sharp pain of the needle dig in and pierce my skin. Fina performs the simple procedure PAINFULLY (literally and figuratively) slowly, getting the longest amount of time possible in pumping the substance in my veins.

When the syringe is empty, she pulls it out PAINFULLY (again, literally and figuratively) slowly. When it's finally out, she stands up and nods, the others letting me go and giving each other hi-fives. I got up slowly, rubbing my shoulder.

"I'll get you for this" I told them. Fina stepped in front of me. "I DEMAND COMPENSATION!" she pulled something out from behind her.

"How about a lollypop?" she jokingly asked. I saw the red disk on the white stick very quickly.

"Deal" she passed it to me, and I wasted no time in shoving it in my mouth. "I'll leave it at that then"

"You really hate needles don't you" Aika commented. I nodded.

"Haven't liked them in the past, don't like them now" I sighed, walking out. "Thanks Fina"

"Your welcome. And remember, the training program starts in 10 minutes at the assault course"

"We'll catch up later then" Vyse told Fina

"See you later baby" Aika told her.

"Good luck" Oh they'll be needing it if we get some time off on either a beach or in snow.

We left the medical wing of the camp, with me nursing a stabbed shoulder and talking. The main topic that seemed to be the most prominent: how my face looked when I was getting a shot. Aika was having the most fun with it, even showing me with her brilliant impressions. I couldn't help but laugh; my actions were a bit OTT.

"So, Hector" I started, changing subject. "Where'd you call home before coming here?"

"I used to live in a border town called Marcella, which is to the south of your Bruhl" he started. Wow, I didn't know there were towns near Bruhl. "I was captain of the town guard there, and my men respected me for what I did" he smiled, remembering the guard I think. "When the empire began their assaults, I managed to get 5 men to stick with me, and we took down 3 Heavy grade tanks" 3 heavy grade tanks? You mean they get worse!? "Along with hundreds of soldiers" wow, you must be a good leader then. "We were forced to abandon the town after the enemy started massing together and countering our guerrilla tactics, along with the fact that everyone made it out of the town and headed for Randgriz"

"So you're practically a hero?" I asked him. He smiled and nodded.

"I remember that some of the people chanted our names in the city" he looked at Vyse and Aika. "What about you two? I hear that you're from Arcadia"

"Well…back home we're…adventurers" Aika told us, smiling.

"We explore, we fight, we find, we report…the list goes on" Vyse chipped in. "That and that we, along with Fina are Heroes as well back home"

"So I know 4 heroes already?" they both nodded. "Wow, this day gets better and better"

Eventually, we made it to the training fields. Our squad was assembled, waiting for our instructor I presume. Even Welkin has been pulled out for this. Just because you have a tank doesn't mean you can skip training now does it? We took a place, finishing the formation. I found myself standing in front of Wavy, to the right of Lynn and behind Ramona.

Everyone was silent. No one dared speak as we might be punished. We saw a man wearing the shock trooper gear walking from the course, another squad alongside him, Faldio at the fore front.

"Put your backs into it!" he barked, the squad running along. "I want you to feel the burn until you beat the empire!" the squad was breathing heavily as it sprinted past us, stopping not too far away to be fair. "Ok! You've all done well today." He stepped in front of Faldio, looking at him as the commander respired. "Get some practise in with your weapons. Just because you have no tank commander, doesn't mean you are weak" they don't have a tank commander? Then what is Faldio? "Get some practise with that Rifle, Lieutenant, You will be the rash on my backside if you can't become a good sniper!" well, that answered that nicely. "Dismissed!"

The group walked away as the, I presume, Drill instructor walked our way. He had an air of fear about him, making us scared of him as he simply looked at us. His right eye was covered with an eye patch, so I presume he lost it in combat, and he had neat black hair. He also showed his age as wrinkles covered areas on his face.

"ALL right you maggots!" he shouted, standing in front of us. We all stood to attention. "I'm your drill sergeant! And as far as you are concerned, I OWN you!" he walked up and down our line, examining us. "You are all here for one reason! To fight for Gallia! I'm here for one reason, apart from to shout and look good!" well, he got the look good part right, if you catch my drift. "I'm here to turn you pieces of dirt into fighting machines capable of fighting off the Imperial invasion!" damn straight. "And if Corporal Appleby will not stop making comments in his head, I will tear his head off!" What!? How did he know? I didn't move! "Not that he is making said comments in his tiny pea sized brain!" damn you, my brain is larger then yours matey. "I hear that a 'Gunther' is your leader. Well, son of a hero or not, NO ONE is above me now!" I'm not scared, are you? "So now! You will run this course, working as a team and doing the required exercises!" and so it begins. "I said RUN!"

We got the hint, starting to run around said course. We split up into teams of 4, with Lynn, Wavy and Ramona in mine. Vyse went with Knute, Ted and Welkin; Aika with Edy, Audrey and Alex; Alicia was with Largo, Rosie and James, who was surprisingly ok, considering the punch; Nadine had the short straw, having Catherine, Marina, Hector and Elysse, a total of 5, in her group.

Lynn and I led the way for our team mates, helping the others where we went. When it came to first obstacle: the high wall, I bent down, letting Lynn use my back to climb up and help the others climb other. When they were done, I got up. She offered me her hand, which I grabbed, and pulled me up and over. I noticed out my eye corner Alicia's team just reaching the wall, Vyse's halfway over, Aika's group nearly level with Alicia's and Nadine struggling to lift the heavy lancers. Considering the odds, you'd have thought Hector would have gone on the wall with Elysse being the footstool, not Nadine on the wall with Hector as footstool.

The 2nd obstacle was the netting. Wavy and Ramona were halfway through them, pushing the net over their heads as they crawled. Lynn and I looked at each other, nodding and diving for the netting.

We did as we saw, pushing the net over as we crawled forward. We saw Wavy and Ramona reach the other side, stopping to wait for us. I pushed on, not thinking of what I was doing. As Lynn pulled ahead of me, I felt my arm get stuck in the net. I looked at it, seeing it and the other teams getting closer.

I tried to go back, but found my feet going through the holes behind me. I looked at Lynn.

"A little help" I said to her. She turned around, seeing my predicament.

"Hold on" she told me, turning slightly to reach the net. She expertly grabbed it, pulling it free of my arm with ease.

"Thank you" I told her. She nodded and we kept going, eventually getting out with the other teams now catching up. I saw Edy in particular looking annoyed at Rosie as she cleared the nets. Nadine was still stuck at the wall, but now Hector was trying to climb it.

Someone please help them out, I'm nearly laughing.

This carried on for a while, all of us sprinting the course to go through the whole thing. The other obstacles were somewhat generic. Climbing up to a high tower using a rope and a wall (I nearly fell, getting saved by Wavy, who was Saved by Lynn and saved by Ramona) then walking across beams to another few lower towers. (with Ramona nearly falling, but saved by Wavy) then…well, the idea of the obstacle was two tight sections surrounded by wood, which we would have to roll through as it twisted and turned. I found myself getting stuck in odd locations, but made it through intact.

One of my personal favourite obstacles on the course was the monkey bars. Not because I like them, but Ted started showing off about halfway, hanging on with his knees and looking at the water beneath him. He smiled, joking about it. I saw Marina in the background getting annoyed as her team started catching up, grabbing a rock and throwing it fullpelt.

The amazing thing is: it actually hit him. And the funny thing is he lost his grip, falling with a load splash into the cold water. I was thankfully off by then, helping Ramona off at the end.

And all the while we ran, the instructor shouted insults like 'Your mother runs faster then that!' and 'this isn't a field trip maggots!'. I looked at Ramona, seeing her looking upset and, as with all of us, knackered.

"Relax Ramona… it's just… to get us going" I told her. She nodded, turning to me.

"I know" she replied. "But this… is not… what I… thought it… would be"

"Don't worry, Ramona" Wavy told her. By now we were on the final stretch, Vyse's team alongside. "Things will…settle down soon"

"We just…have to adapt" Lynn told her. Ramona nodded, running like hell.

We all looked at the end, seeing the instructor smiling as he held a stopwatch. I looked between my team, nodding to them as I felt my muscles burn with pain of exertion. We all ran as fast as we could, using what reserves of energy we had left. we past Vyse's squad, passing the instructor as he watched us. We stopped after we went by him, the officer pressing a button on his gadget.

"1:15:23" he told us, sounding disgusted. "You can do better then that, Maggots!" Vyse's team crossed the line. "1:15:30" then the same insult. Alicia and Aika's sections crossed about a second between each other. "1:23:42" and "1:23:43" and telling them to suck it up. Alicia came before Aika, Edy looking annoyed at his, glaring daggers at Rosie.

Eventually, after we had a bit of a break whilst waiting, Nadine's group crossed. The officer stopped the timer, looking mightily annoyed. 2:00:01. yeah, that's what happens when you have two lancers in a team of 5 including an engineer and two snipers. We all formed back up, breathing heavily.

"I've seen better times from drunken snails!" he shouted. You can get a snail drunk? "If it weren't for the fact it's not my decision, I would leave you here doing this all day until you break the one hour mark!" I didn't think that was that bad. "The Central army soldiers can do that course in under 30 minutes!" ah…maybe it was bad…no actually bad would be 1:23:00 onwards. "But orders are Orders; you completed the course so you are cleared for active duty!" yeah. "So now, you may go and collect your weapons and do what you want for the day!" yay. "Lights out at 1900 hours. Dismissed!"

We all lumbered away, our limbs feeling like lead weights. I for one was happy with the time we had, being quite close to the hour mark. I looked at the trio, smiling.

"Thanks for the saves guys" I told them. They all nodded, sweet pouring down.

"Anytime" Wavy told me. "Besides, some people need to keep you guys safe"

"And how will I protect Karl if I don't help others?" Lynn asked…I don't see how that works but ok.

"I'm just glad it's over" Ramona commented, pushing her back forward with her hands. "Even my blisters have blisters" she looked at me. "How can you keep so normal after that?"

"We have more coming remember" I told her. She looked annoyed at that.

"Oh, I was so going to go and get a copy of Gallian Girl and see what's going on with Fashion. I can give you some tips if you want Lynn, and your hair Craig…it looks a mess, curling all over the place like that…and brown, so last year, you should get it coloured. I hear blond is in. or black or the other colours. I'd rather stick with Ginger…"

Someone, please, shut her up. She is one chatty bloody Cathy. I wonder if Marina would consider her as annoying as Ted…

* * *

_After hearing that Hector, Vyse, Aika and Fina were heroes, I thought 'hey, maybe we won't need to fight as hard'_

_But then I remembered all the lines I heard in games._

_One sticking out._

_War is hell…and hell is for heroes…_

* * *

I was wondering how to do the training section of HQ. And this is the best I could come up with. The basic assault course with a few moments of entertainment.

Then again, early days of our war, I guess things can be light hearted.

And Ramona is a chatty Cathy right? If not, I have her long conversation piece for nothing. And it didn't actually end with the ginger bit, she's still going. I can just see her now, talking me to death lol.

DEATH BY CONVERSATION!!! I suppose. :)

And yes, that was an evil thought at the end.

So, we've seen the barracks and the training area, along with the command centre, now we need to see R&D…


	12. preparations

Chapter 11

Preparations

_I was eager to get going, I'll admit._

_I know we'd be fighting for our lives but still_

_It's the waiting I hate._

_Now, we can get our weapons_

Myself, Lynn, Wavy and Ramona, finishing up for the day, arrived in the hanger for the vehicles. I looked around, seeing no one anywhere near. The hanger was basically a big building with a cleared floor, set up so the tanks and otherwise could be serviced, repaired, deployed and returned quickly and easily. You may think that we're silly for coming here instead of going to the armoury for our guns, but we're not. We have to get them and a lot more from the R&D teams.

"…and as for Vasel, that place needs some livening up." Ramona spoke…yeah, she's still going. Annoying, right? I need someway to silence her that doesn't involve sitting her next to Marina or doing the deed myself doing anything.

"Hey, Ramona" I started. She stopped, gods rejoice, and looked at me. "Do you mind if I ask what is probably going to be a bad question?"

"Sure, go ahead"

"Well…I was wondering…why do people hate Darcsens?" yeah, bad question to ask when your practically in the company of two of them trying to maintain the guise of a travelled Gallian.

"You mean you don't know?" she asked. I shook my head. Wavy and Nadine looked at me oddly.

"According to the teachings, we Darcsens caused the biggest disaster this side…well, anything" Wavy told me. Considering I'd be annoyed, to say the least, if someone said that about me, he didn't show one lick of emotion. Lynn looked down at the ground.

"The Darcsen Calamity" she told me, sorrowfully. "The Valkyrur tell that we caused it…and we've felt the stigma ever since…" Valkyrur? I'll have to look them up. "Hence why no Darcsen you'll meet will have a last name" I raised an eyebrow.

"But what about Isara? She has a last name" I had to ask.

"That's because she was brought up by Belgen Gunther, Welkin's father" ah…makes sense.

"Sorry…my mistake" she nodded, looking around. "I have to ask though, what do you call each other if you come across someone with the same name?" now Wavy and Lynn both looked at me.

"What do you mean?" Wavy asked me.

"Well, if we came across someone else called Lynn who was a Darcsen…"

"You either say 'that one' and point to the one you want when they both look at you, or you call them after their father's name" wow, makes sense, like the olden names.

"So Isara is actually Isara Theimer?" they both nodded. "Wow"

"If you don't mind, I'd rather we leave this topic" Lynn told us. I nodded, looking around.

In one corner, is saw Alicia and Welkin looking over the Edelweiss. I wonder where Isara is. We looked around seeing no one else.

"Hello!" I shouted, hoping to find the bloody guys. "Helllooo!" one man walked up with brown hair and goggles on his forehead, keeping the hair out of his face. His eyes were closed, apparently, and he was smiling.

"Who called?" he asked, still smiling. Lynn, Wavy, Ramona and I saluted him.

"Squad 7 of regiment 3" Lynn told him. We stopped saluting.

"Squad 7…oh, Welkin's squad" he smiled even more, never opening his eyes.

"We're looking for our equipment" I told him. "We're hoping you could help us sir"

"Sir? My name's Leon bro'" he told me. he was wearing sorta lighter engineer gear, with tools all over his belt. "If you follow me, man, I'll show them to you"

He walked ahead, not opening his eyes as far as I saw. Lynn and Wavy led, with Ramona and me following. Myself and Ramona exchanged looks, with me shrugging my shoulders as she pointed to Leon. We had a quick chuckle, looking at Leon as he walked by the many Gallian tanks. These looked nothing like the Edelweiss, each one smaller and lighter. I doubt in a fire fight, they could stand up to an imperial tank.

"These tanks seem a little light compared to the empire's ones" I told him. He nodded.

"The Gallian army is too worried about funds to produce anything bigger then these" he informed us. He turned his head, looking exactly the same as before. "We mass-produce these tanks and attempt to overwhelm with numbers" so far, it seems like WW1 all over again. "These babies were made for defensive battles." I can understand why, Gallia's neutral.

"So why aren't they making heavier tanks now?" Lynn asked. Leon turned to her.

"We can't get enough materials from Fouzen due to the Quarantine." Damn. If I haven't told you, Randgriz has been laced under a near enough Quarentine state as the army hopes to defend against the Imperials. I heard tell that if we take Vasel, the quarantine will lift. "Hey Kreis, bro', you here?"

"What is it now, Leon?" I heard someone groan. A young man wearing the same as Leon, except with glasses and green curly hair. He looked the smarter of the pair.

"We've got some new squaddies from S 7" squaddies?

"Ah, I see" He turned to us, his hand on the turret of a tank. "I'm Kreis, Engineer in R&D and I work alongside Leon here" he saluted us, smiling. "I hope you'll find what we make here useful"

"So what do we get?" I asked, almost rudely. Kreis smiled, turning around and pulling a rack from behind the tank, filled to the brim with weapons.

"Mags mark 3 for shocktroopers" he grabbed one, holding it like you'd expect a trooper to. "We lowered the recoil, but increased the stopping power" he held two out, passing them to me and Lynn. "We've got enough to give you one each and about 10 magazines each" wow, that's a lot. He passed us a bag each. I looked inside, seeing the mags in question.

"Thanks Mate" I told him, placing the bag down and starting to pull out and attach the individual mags to my belt. Kreis pulled off another gun, holding it out.

"Gallian mark 2" he told them, smiling as he modelled it. "It has a longer barrel for more accuracy" he pulled the bolt back, aiming it at Leon and pulling the trigger, a click issuing from the gun. He passed one to Ramona and one to Wavy, passing them another bag each. "Also, we have a maintenance kit to give you, which are in the bag"

I saw a silver case inside the bag, pulling it out and examining it. It was small, thin and light, thin enough to fit in a jeans pocket for a severally overweight person and be pulled out comfortably. I opened it, seeing several pieces of equipment inside.

First was a simple rod, quite small and thin, but long enough to fit down the barrel of my Mags. It also had a brush of some kind on it…I guess to try and clean off left over powder. There was also a screwdriver, some…liquid of some sort and a small clip, which could only really hold one bullet…I guess that's to sort out the simpler issues in the field. Load it up with one bullet and fire, knocking both bullets out.

"We're giving Charger clips to Snipers, along with type-52 Valkyrur pistols to them and Lancers" why do we want to know that bit? And Chargers? What the heck are…oh wait…are they those bullet holdetr things I saw James with "Also, you need the B2 grenades" he pulled out about 12 of the blighters in one case, walking over to us and giving us three each. "And these."

He put the case down behind a small Gallian Tank, pulling out a small box, holding it with one hand and reaching into it. He pulled his hand out as a fist, holding it out for us. I held my hand out first, Kreis dropping an ear piece of some sort. It was…well, what you'd expect. A small earpiece designed to go around your ear, with an earphone for comms and a microphone to respond. Considering this is supposed to be 1935 (EC so for all I know its 2013) they look quite modern.

"These are brand new from the development lines" he told us, proudly. "We call them RTH, or Radio transmission systems"

"When your in the field, your gonna need to respond to other people and hear Welkin's orders, bro'" Leon chipped in, giving us a thumbs up.

"Just put them on, with the mic…" he grabbed mine for an example, shoving it quite forcefully on my ear so the ring went around my ear, with the mic forward. "Like this." Remind me to never model things for him.

"Thanks guys" I told them. Ramona seemed overjoyed.

"Wow, these things could come into fashion you know" she spoke. Lynn and Wavy nodded. "I'm sure with a little work you could get the radio with this thing, or even music, or maybe broadcasts from Randgriz's royal family…" I'm thankful Wavy walked off with her, Lynn did a bow, walking over to another Engineer.

I heard something on the earpiece. Almost like a voice. Kreis and Leon started packing up as I strapped my gun to my back, looking around.

"Hey Craig" I heard someone…I think Isara speak. "Look left." I did so, seeing a wall. "No, your other left." So right. I did so, seeing the Edelweiss with Welkin and Alicia. "Head towards that tank" ok, mysterious voice number 1. I walked towards the tank, saluting Welkin and Alicia.

"So what are you two up to?" I asked them. They looked at me, saluting back.

"Oh, hey Craig. Didn't expect to see you here so soon." Alicia replied.

"Well, I thought it better to get my things in order" I replied, smiling. "Besides, I'm kitted for tomorrow now" I looked at Welkin. "You'll have to forgive me for having the stand off with my brother earlier"

"Yes, I heard about that" he told me, putting a hand under his chin. "I know James and I are both older brothers, but we seem to differ in method." How many more people are going to bring that up?"

"To be fair, Welkin, you have Isara as your younger sister, whilst I have James as my older brother." I crossed my arms, smiling. "So technically, you already have the advantage."

"I wouldn't say that. Have you been in our house when we were kids?" Well, no. "She would have her little tea parties, and I would join in to give her some company." Alicia looked at him oddly as he said this…I can see why, I was giving him the same look.

"Welkin, which way do you look at men?" I asked him, as a joke. He scratched the back of his head.

"Good friends, why?" did he missed the hint there.

"Welks" I heard an echoed voice of Isara speak. The tank hatch opened as she climbed out. "We're all ready to go here. And I managed to service this" she held up a gun.

"Ok, Is, I know life is hard, but no need to shoot anyone" I told her…I would say jokingly, but I thought it was a real gun.

"Relax Craig" she laughed. "It's Father's Flare gun" she slid down the tank, giving it to her older brother. "I gave it a once over, so it should still work."

"Great. Another hand me down." He moaned.

"Well, at least it's a useful hand me down." I told him. Isara turned to me, smiling.

"I see you got the new radio equipment" I nodded, turning my head to the side to show her. "How is it?"

"It feels kinda comfy actually" it's tight, but snug…nice. It looked like plastic with fur around it o the ring. "I guess you had a bit of fun in the tank with the radio?" she looked down, blushing.

"I just thought you'd come and say hello" she told me. I smiled, rubbing her head.

"I always will" I knelt down beside her. "Besides, we're in squad 7 are we not? We'll be seeing a lot of each other." She smiled at this, jumping. "If anything bad happens, you can always go to Welkin or myself, alright?" she nodded, smiling even more.

Suddenly, and surprisingly, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me. This definitely caught me off guard, as I didn't expect it of her, but Welkin, her brother, and Alicia both looked more surprised then me.

"You really haven't changed" she commented. "Even after all of these years." I wasn't going to say anything. She thinks I'm someone else, that'll be fine. Just as long as she doesn't try going further then friends, as I don't want a relationship.

_Isara seems to think of me as her trusting guardian, 2__nd__ to Welkin._

_I didn't mind. It was nice to think someone depended on me._

_And the comms equipment…MAN was that modern_

_How on earth do they have it in Gallia…without some sort of electrical system to go with it?_

* * *

I looked around, and noticed that people were using proper names for their weapons when it came to pistols. So I've gone off that and made the Valkyrur pistol.

It's a simple side arm. 5 shots, very short distance and very low power. Only meant to be used as a last resort when the rifle would hurt you more then using something smaller.

And as for the comms, how else do YOU hear the communication between units in the field on the game?


	13. To Vasel

So FINALLY, we start moving.

Chapter 12

To Vasel

* * *

_So we're now ready._

_Everyone is outfitted and ready to move._

_We all know each other…a bit_

_So…after a good nights rest, we started._

* * *

Despite the obvious matter of our impending battle hanging over us all, we managed to get a good nights rest. Heck, I know some people were up before the alarms around camp.

I seemed to be up first out of my section, excitement and fear forcing me up. Excitement over a new operation in a new place, and fear…well, due to the fact we were actually going into a new operation. Which would mean more imperials, which would mean more fighting, which would mean more chance of getting shot.

I don't think I need to finish that train of thought.

After we all got ready, we compared our new gear. Vyse and myself liked our new Mags machine guns, while Aika and Nadine were happy with the new Gallian type rifles. The engineer wasn't too impressed with the amount she had to carry.

Just add all this up for me, as I believe Nadine even told me the weight of it all.

50 clips for Gallian type rifles, excluding her own. Each weighing about 15 grams

50 magazines for Mags type rifles, each weighing about 20.

12 lance-heads, weighing 1 kg each

15 stripper clips/ chargers for GSR type sniper rifles, each weighing 20 grams

20 B type grenades, each weighing around 200 grams

20 clips for Valkyrur pistols, each weighing 5 grams

Now, adding that together, I get around 18150 grams…and that's not including the mass of her own stuff and the several ragnaid capsules she has around her person.

How the hell is she carrying all of that without buckling? I knew engineers aren't meant for frontline combat but JEEZ that's a lot. I hope Knute is carrying his fair share, and what about the tank!?

"Hey Craig" Vyse started. I looked at him as I reattached the magazines "You're not worried are you?" YES! BY GOD AM I WORRIED!

"Well…yeah. Aren't you?" I asked back. He shook his head.

"Challenges are fun…especially ones with risks" I think something may be wrong with Vyse.

"Vyse, your not doing what you normally do are you?" Aika asked. Well, that would depend on what he normally does.

"I'm not psyching him out, I'm just checking up on him" you could'a fooled me.

"Are you kids arguing back there?" Largo asked, putting some Lance heads on his armour. "If I have to come back there and sort things out…"

"Sorry Largo" Nadine told him. It wasn't your fault Nadine.

"Relax; I'm alright for Chit-chat, but not trying to belittle each other" I found myself looking at him, the lancer looking strangely serious…even more so then considering we're going into combat.

"What's wrong Largo?" I asked him. He looked at me, shaking his head.

"I'll explain later…not that it matters anyway"

He kept silent at that, getting everything else together. I strapped my Mags to my back, finishing up with the grenades on the back of my belt on the left side. I put the mic on my ear, smiling.

"This is going to be thrilling"

Why on earth I said that I'll never know.

To skip a few useless hours, we basically got together, formed our group, with Welkin and Isara bringing the Edelweiss from the hanger, a new plate defence item had been added to the top of it, along with a few spare parts around the side and some reinforcement around the radiator.

We started our trek to Vasel, everyone walking behind the Edelweiss. As far as I had heard, it would be urban combat. Great, now we've got to worry about door to door gunnery.

We just walked as normal, talking as we would do as if this were a trip somewhere. Fina, who I thought was just our medic at the camp, was also our field medic, but instead of lugging around ammo and the like, she carried loads upon loads of Ragnaid, a massive crate (I say crate, but it's more one of those things you see in science labs when they want to examine something) on her back, containing a lump of Ragnite. From what I knew of the stuff, I guess that she is carrying what would be our last lifeline…a defibulator if you will.

I found myself away from my normal group, this time in a section containing the few I hadn't spoken to yet. Knute, the glasses wearing Engineer, Edy, the good looking but annoying voiced shocktrooper, Audrey, the 'stronger then she looks' lancer, Elysse, the 'slow but steady' lancer, Ted, the comedy scout and Alex, the 'bird' shocktrooper. Why do I say bird? Well:

"I always want to be in as high a place as possible" he replied, when asked. I nodded as he said this. "I love high places, it's my nature man"

"I can understand that" I told him. I find it in my nature to defend people, much like Wavy I suppose.

"I think in future I'll see if I can fly a plane of some kind"

"Why would you do a thing like that?" Knute asked, pushing his glasses up. "Why not do something and make some money?" how rude.

"Money's not a goal, man"

"It is in my book" Knute got a clip out for some reason. "Why waste money on things like war?"

"Because you can make money?" Ted replied, trying to tell a joke.

"Exactly" what, Ted was right? "I figure the Imperials have invaded to make some money"

"I doubt it" Ted did a hand stand, walking forward with his hands at the same time. "The main thing Gallia has is Ragnite, and Ragnite is only really useful for everything" ok, now here comes the joke… "Did I mention that Vasel is a really good place for boats? It floats well" some snickers from other members of the group, but Knute and myself stayed silent.

"That was gooooood" Elysse replied…literally like that. "You'd make a good clown some day Teed" a stretched out Ted I presume, but sounds like Teed, like the golfing term.

"Thank you, thank you" he replied, moving his feet to mimic what his hands would do.

"You know what I think" Audrey started. This should be good. "What if we get, like, some kind of honour from all of this?"

"You mean like a MGS?" Knute asked. (Member of the Gallian Senate…odd considering Gallia has no senate) Audrey nodded. "That would improve business no matter what you did"

"That's not what I…"

"I have a feeling that, no matter what you say, he isn't listening" I interrupted Audrey. "Everything is business to him"

"I can see that we might be a good group, Darlings" Edy began, smiling as she held her hand in front of her. "It doesn't matter what the Imperials throw at us, Squad 7 can overcome it with my skill" not to say I don't have confidence in you Edy but…

"I don't mean to be rude" we heard someone interrupt. We turned around, seeing James with Marina behind him. "Do you mind if I borrow Craig?"

"No way pal" Ted replied. "I'm just getting to the main event of my act"

"Yeah, we're just getting to know him and you want to talk to him now?" Alex continued.

"I believe that this is the most profitable way of getting through this war" Knute…you get the idea.

"Before anyone else chips in" James interrupted, smiling. "It's not to stop him…or anything involving fists" really? Because I have a knuckle sandwich waiting for you.

"It's alright guys" I told the group, stopping. "We'll catch up later"

As the guys went ahead, I waited back with James, Marina and, curiously, Alicia, who was probably there to keep the peace. I watched everyone go ahead, and noticing some things you probably normally wouldn't. For instance, Catherine has about…3 chargers on her rifle. Along with loads of sections sewn into her uniform for extra pockets, holding even more bullets.

We restarted walking at the back, James alongside me.

"You do realise what we are about to do, right?" he asked me. I nodded. "And you're sure about doing this?"

"Since when did you care what I want to do?" I countered. He recoiled, but didn't look surprised. "You have been trying to get rid of me since we got here"

"I know…but now…I've thought about it…" he looked around, crossing his arms, enabling me to see that his pistol was placed on his arm, like those fancy sword sheathes they had in films like Gladiator (right at the end with the dagger…you know the one I mean)

"Seeing as though you won't listen to reason…" he told me.

"Worthless…" I heard Marina tell him.

"I know…but I had to try, Marina"

"James, he wants to do this" Alicia chipped in, running between us. "He doesn't want to sit in a room, wondering what'll happen"

"Obviously he wants to fight…" Marina told him. They seem to know me better then he does.

"But I don't want to see him killed" James told us. Alicia put her arm around him.

"…We'll guard him" the sniper told him.

"Yeah, we'll keep him safe for you" Alicia echoed…like I need keeping safe.

"If that's what I can get, I would be grateful" he told them. I smiled as he finally got the hint.

"You'll see what I can do James" I told him. I held my fist up. "I'd like to see the enemy try to stop me"

I know this battle isn't going to be easy…but this is for Gallia.

* * *

_When it comes to squadmates, I got the luck of the draw._

_At least I now know these people to a certain degree._

_Now it's just a matter of putting my trust in them._

_After all...they have to do the same._

* * *

Next chapter: Vasel urban combat (in game)

Whatever the hell I think it should be called (in story)


	14. firefights in Vasel

Chapter 13:

Fire fights in Vasel

* * *

_Squad 7's first operation: the battle for Vasel._

_Whatever happened here would have a large effect on the war_

_If we failed, Gallia would lose_

_Win and we may yet stand a chance at fighting back the imperials._

_I worked it out._

_We were probably the only thing between victory and lose._

_Even though I knew other squads were fighting alongside us._

* * *

"Here's the plan" Welkin told us over the Radio. We could see Vasel in the distance, one arch showing the entrance as a river ran to the right of it, heading through the city under a medieval style bridge. "We're splitting into two teams to storm Vasel" I nodded, shoving a mag into my gun and pulling the bolt back. Everyone else was doing something like it, with the lancers placing a lance head onto the end of their weapons. "I'll lead one side with the Edelweiss, heading down the main street with Knute, Edy, Alicia, Largo, Hector, Catherine, Ramona, Elysse, Ted and James" the named walked over to the Edelweiss, giving each other a calm nod. James looked at me, and I put my thumb up. "The rest of you, head down the side streets and clear the enemy out. We don't want a single imperial leaving here to hit us later" he appeared from the hatch of his tank. "I want everyone to come back alive" he swung his arm out, putting a hand on his hat. "Squad 7! MOVE OUT!" he swung said hand forward, still holding his hat with his other hand.

He went inside as the tank went forward. Everyone in Welkin's group followed, the snipers and Engineers making sure they had good cover behind the tank. Rosie ran in front of our group, swinging her arm in between us.

"After me Kiddos" she told us, then running to the right, heading to the riverbank. We all followed, the scouts getting slightly further ahead. This was going to be entertaining, dodging gunfire and what not.

"Squad, don't be afraid to split off if you have too" Welkin told us over the intercom. "Just be sure you can handle whatever comes your way"

Rosie led us to the riverbank, checking everything as she went along. Everyone held their guns ready as we went along. Suddenly, she stopped, the rest of us following suit. She pointed to an alleyway next to her, turning around.

"Vyse, take Aika, Craig and the Dark hairs down there" she told him…Rosie, now's not the time. "Marina, go with them, we won't need a sniper"

"I'll go too" Fina told her. Rosie nodded.

"Meet me at the corner of Randgriz road" she walked ahead, the rest of the squad going with her…as in Alex and Audrey. How is she going to hold anything off with a shocktrooper and a lancer?

"Let's move people" Vyse told us.

We started walking down an alleyway, everyone keeping their weapons ready. I kept looking around, wondering where the enemy might be. I found myself startled by a curtain hanging out of a window for crying out loud, turning suddenly and aiming at it. Just a curtain Craig…Just a curtain. I heard Ted say something like 'wow, this place is quieter then my Aunt Patty's after she's had a few too many' over the radio

We found ourselves wandering onto a road way. Vyse stopping us, peeking his head around the corner before we ran. He looked both ways, turning back to us. "Some soldiers are down the right" he told us, smiling. "Craig, Fina, go to the other side and fire on my mark…Marina, take the ladder and try to snipe them as best you can"

"Understood" she replied, slinging her gun onto her back. She looked at the window from before, climbing up the building into it.

"I'll tell you when it's clear to run"

I nodded, as did Fina. We both got ready to run, hoping our bolt would get us across the road into the opposite alley without us being seen. Vyse waved his hand forward, which myself and Fina used as our signal, bolting over the road. I dived behind cover, checking my gun as I hugged the wall, breathing harder. Fina did the same, except not checking her gun.

I turned around, peeking around the corner. I saw the imperials in question…about 25 of them…great, we're outnumbered again. They were stood in a square, talking to each other as one set sandbag walls. They already had a number set up. A red flag in the centre gave away who they were, as if it were needed. I gulped, looking at Vyse.

"Any minute now, the Edelweiss will hit the enemy lines" he whispered over the comms. I nodded, reasserting my grip on the end of my gun. "When it does, Marina, I want you to pick off any Imperials you can…or shoot something that will take more then one down" I heard a grunt over the radio. "While we will shoot them from here. Aika, Fina, Nadine, Wavy, get indoors and try to pick them off once we start" he turned to Lynn. "We're gonna hold them here" I nodded, seeing Lynn set up. "Remember, shoot wisely"

We heard it, the initial gunshots over in the next street. Alicia shouting 'Enemy found!'. They must have heard it too, as they looked towards it. Meanwhile, our scouts and Engineers got into position, silently breaking windows. Vyse nodded, looking at Marina's position on the roof top above us.

"Fire" he told her. She took her chance, firing a clean shot from her rifle. I heard someone shout as they were hit, gunshots ringing from his gun…a machine gun, great. I saw the imperials become alert, looking around for us. "OPEN FIRE!" Vyse shouted. He broke from cover far enough to shot at the imperials, as did Lynn. I crouched down, aiming off my knee.

We all fired short bursts, trying our best to hit the imperials. They mostly managed to dodge, with the exception of one to the left of my sight. He got hit in the arm, recoiling as he fell. And with that, all hell broke loose. The enemy got to the sandbags, firing a few bullets back at us.

I retook cover, Vyse and Lynn being brave and staying out. I pulled my clip out, checking my bullets…nothing…wow a full mag gone in one go. I threw it to one side, grabbing a new one and slamming it in, adrenaline kicking in as I pulled the bolt back. Vyse and Lynn retook cover, our fellow gunners taking over from the houses. I saw Vyse clutching his shoulder. I heard conversations from other squad parts as they talked to each other about how they should move, enemy locations and so on.

"You ok buddy?" I asked him, getting ready to break cover as soon as the current blizzard of bullets ended. He nodded, smiling.

"Only a flesh wound" he told me, putting his hand back on his gun.

"Get some ragnaid on it" I broke cover as the shots ended, shooting from my knee, aiming at the nearest target. I fired a few shots to suppress him, and his chums, then aimed cautiously.

I fired as soon as I thought I had a mark. Turned out that I had, as the bullet flew true and hit him in the skull. Marina fired another shot, hitting another in the eye. Both dropped dead, their allies stopping to reload and seeing them. I retook cover myself, this time knowing I had rounds left.

"Aika! Can you get a grenade on them!?" I shouted, as a new volley began.

"Sorry baby, out of range" she told me. I heard an explosion. "That's what I mean" I looked quickly, seeing the blue smoke nowhere near the imperials.

"How you doing for shots by the way?" the volley seemed almost endless.

"Ask the person who owns the kitchen. It's a mess"

"I meant you shooting them"

"We can't get a clear shot with out them seeing us"

"Terrific" I held my gun around the corner, firing blindly. "How many have we taken down?"

"12…" Marina told us, then firing another shot. "13…"

"You good" my gun stopped firing as I hit a wall, bullets hitting the gun. "Reload!"

I felt a bullet hit my gun as I returned. I pulled the mag out, seeing half a clip left…what? "I've got a Jam!"

"Load a bullet into the smaller mag and fire" Nadine told me.

I nodded, standing up and pulling it out quickly. It must have been those bullets…unless…did I jam it by hitting the wall. I pushed the top bullet from the mag, the spring pushing the next one into place. I pulled out the small clip, dropping the half full one and shoving the bullet into place. The clip was then slammed into the machine gun, the bolt pulled back and I squeezed the trigger twice, two bullets flying out and dropping beside me. Now the casings where ringing quite loudly as they fell onto other ones.

"Cleared!" I shouted, yanking the mag out and putting it away, loading the old one up. I heard a deafly silence fall as I did so, seeing Vyse and Lynn still firing. What the hell is going on? I peeked around the corner, seeing two charging imps. I held my gun firmly, turning and shooting them multiple times. I watched as they danced the dance of death, bullets thudding into them, and their guns firing multiple times…good considering they were rifles. I heard gunfire from the enemy, feeling bullets hit my right arm.

"Shit" I spoke, darting behind cover, but not before another three hit my right leg. "Shit!" I shouted. I wanted to nurse the wounds, run from here and never look back. But I fought on, loading my gun up. "Vyse! If we hang around here, we're going to get shot to hell!" I looked at him, seeing Lynn holding a wound to her side. "We've got to find a better place to fight them"

"We'll fight them here!" he shouted back. "Aika and Fina have chest wounds, Wavy and Nadine have been hit badly in the shoulder. We give now, We're DEAD!" I heard Marina shout in pain above us. I looked at her, seeing her falling off the rooftop above me. I dropped my gun, catching her before she hit the ground, multiple wounds evident on her shoulders and arms

"My rifle…Where's…" she spoke, going silent. Crap.

"She's going!" I shouted, laying her down as her rifle landed beside her. "Marina's down, Fina!"

"What? How can she go now?" she asked back. I heard one of our guns stop, Fina leaving her house and appearing next to me. "You'll make it" she told Marina, getting the Ragnaid crate off her back. "That's a promise"

"Make sure you save her!" I told her. Wait a moment…Craig you idiot! "Rosie, we're pinned on Belgen square, We need help!"

"Can't help you kiddo!" she shouted back. I could hear the sound of gun fire on her side. "Seems we found us a tank" I heard an explosion, followed by a shout. "Audrey!"

"I'm fine…I'm stronger then I look" she replied.

"Damn…Welkin! How thing's going your end?!"

"Heavy residence in the plaza" he replied. "Seems they're guarding the bridge"

"We're pinned, orders!"

"We're heading towards your location, pulling away from combat. We'll meet you there"

"Welkin, a tanks not going to fit down these alleys"

I shot a quick look around, seeing a stone wall to the right…small enough for a friend of ours to plow through. I nodded, smiling. "Where's James?"

"Sniper post at Point 5" the church? Already? That's half way into town! "He broke off and took it himself"

"I'll cover you Welkin!" he shouted over the radio.

"James?" I broke cover, firing another burst at the 12 that remained while Fina started plugging some tubes into Marina's skin. "You were supposed to stick with Welkin…and what are you doing so deep?"

"Relax, they don't know I'm here"

I saw one of the soldiers fall, shot in the chest as he screamed. I pulled a grenade off my belt, pulling the pin and throwing it with all my might towards the group of 5. it landed with it's blue light, exploding as they tried to throw it back. I noticed body parts flying, his arm landing in front of me. Not a pretty sight.

The other 6…well…the Edelweiss plowed through the wall, guns blaring at the enemy soldiers. I heard a few explosions as it did so, with the enemy being blasted away. I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the tank stop.

"Rosie is pinning on 3rd" Welkin told the whole Squad. "And enemy troops are charging to the church, hoping to catch Catherine and James off guard"

"I'll go help James" I told Welkin, running off towards it.

"As for the rest of us, let's rescue Rosie and company"

I ran by Alicia, grabbing her as I ran. She knew what I was doing, choosing to follow me instead of Welkin. As I run through these streets, looking for the entrance, I find myself asking one question: how could he be so stupid? James, you know what orders are for, follow them.

"What's the plan?" Alicia asked me. She seemed as out of breath as I was becoming.

"Simple, kick some ass" I told her. I smiled at her, then looking at the church. Sure enough, James was on the top, armed with his pistol. Catherine was doing the same, but kneeling, looking down at something. "James! How many!?"

"Ten at last count" he told me. "Catherine's nearly out of clips, I'm not doing too well myself"

"And the other squads?" I heard Rosie over the intercom saying 'ain't no stopping me' followed by gunfire. Then Welkin saying 'advance carefully. We don't want any casualties' and finally Varrot saying 'Target silenced…head for the next one'

"Seems Faldio's the only one making headway, as squads 3 and 5 have hit a standstill" I heard some bangs as I entered the church. "They're here"

"Hold them as long as you can, we'll help you out"

The church was what you'd expect, loads of pews, mostly ruined and kicked aside. A stained glass picture of a woman holding a lance and shield with a blue flame about her stood out among the rubble. But I didn't have time to examine it, I was in a hurry. Adrenaline kicked back in as I saw the stairs, 7 imperials ready to burst the door to the roof open.

Alicia and I took cover behind the pews, sighting up the enemy. I aimed, holding my hand up for her to see. She fired, as did I, both of us nailing the first two. The others turned around, realising what was going on, then charging down to take us on. They all came out, taking cover. We managed to kill about 4 of them; leaving 1 on his own…he took cover behind a pillar on my side. We both tried hitting him, hitting the pillar, our bullets not literally bouncing off.

"Plan B" I told Alicia. I moved from my cover, pulling the mag out and shoving a new one in, pulling the bolt back, I walked carefully over to the pillar, going as quietly as possible. When I was close enough, I hugged the pillar, staying close to it in order to see my foe.

He was breathing heavily…mostly through fear. This will teach you to mess with my family. I charged him, trying to hit him with the butt of my gun. He grabbed it, wrestling it out of my grip swiftly and aiming his at me. I grabbed him, throwing him to one side and kicking him. He dropped his gun, to which I grabbed him from behind, holding his arms behind his back.

Suddenly, a loud bang, followed by blood splattering in my face. Alicia had taken the shot presented to her, hitting the soldier square in the face. I let him go, the soldier slowly falling to his knees. After a pause, he fell fully, a cloud of dust around him. I wiped my face as best I could, grateful he was down.

"It's clear James" I told him. He opened the door, running in with his Gun, Catherine close behind.

"You did it?" he asked, in a surprised fashion. I nodded.

"I know how to follow orders you see" I told him. "Next time, stick with Welkin"

"Rosie, you alright?" Alicia asked.

"I'm ok Alicia…the tanks down" she replied…I heard her breathing heavily. "We nearly lost that one"

Vasel was ours again…now we have to deal with the other bank…

* * *

_One side of Vasel was taken with great difficulty on my side._

_I'd hate to think what Rosie and company went through_

_And then, Welkin and the Edelweiss…_

_But for now, the battle's done._

_And we can rest…for now_

* * *

Yeah, more combat…I'm not one for gun combat am I? swords I can (and have (different story)) done but guns…man there hard.

Makes me wish I had done an older version…MEDIEVAL VALKYRIA

But then you'd end up with what is generally regarded as fire emblem so…meh.

Then again, countering Valkyrur with medieval weapons would be interesting

And, yes, I've probably gotten the 'jam removal' method wrong. I don't have any experience with firearms beyond games and…well, I just had the mini clip for a reason.


	15. the journalist

Chapter 14

The journalist…

* * *

_We all knew what lay ahead._

_Varrot had, thankfully, managed to organise a rest for us before we began 'operation cloudburst'_

_The main thing we did was organise weapons…other thing, though, had to have a place._

_This is a free world after all._

* * *

James and Catherine had been called into a tent with Welkin. As far as I had heard, James was told SPECIFICALLY not to take point 5 until later in the battle, or was it not to take it at all.. Now, while the church had been a vital aid in the battle, with the sniper pair killing more then there fair share, it's still breaking orders. Apparently, to take the church meant breaking through about half the unit of 60…yes, only 30, but that is still a lot. He must have done some kind of sneaking, like Snake.

Alicia was outside with me, telling me what she had heard. I got resupplied whilst she spoke, listening to her every word. She was basically my only real source of information.

"According to Captain Varrot, we have a member of GBS coming down to interview members of the squad" I grabbed a few mags, strapping them to my belt.

"GBS?" I asked her. I held my gun in one hand, checking it for damage. Yeah, it had been hit by a bullet. I had been told by the engineers that it should be broken, but it seems to be alive.

"Gallia Broadcasting Service. They send out reports over the wireless for everyone in Gallia" I pulled the bolt back, the last bullet flying out of my gun.

"So we have a reporter coming along" I surmised, strapping the gun back on my back. Alicia 'hm-hm'ed me. "And this affects me how?" I found a tap near our supplies, which would have been used to get drinking water. I put my head under it, turning the top so that I could get a bit of a cool down.

"Well, Varrot and…well, half the squad voted you to be the guide" I turned my head, looking at her, water going over my face. I think I had a surprised look on my face, but I hoped that it was more…shock.

"So I'm the patsy eh?" I asked her, turning off the tap and shaking my head. When I stopped, she nodded. "Great"

"We saw her just after the battle, when Welkin and I were organising the sleeping arrangement" SHE? I know it's a stereotype, but I thought that 1935 was still an age of male dominance in every job.

"So what do I need to know about her?" I asked the baker, strapping a few grenades to my belt.

"Her name is Ellet, she's a young woman who would do anything for a good story. Before coming to Gallia, she ran a little newspaper shop on the federation side of the border" I looked at her, confused.

"She's a fed?" Alicia nodded. "But I thought Gallia wasn't taking Feds or Imperials over the border anymore"

"She's a pillar of Gallia according to half of the country"

"And the other half?"

"They don't mind her" that was simple. "Miss Ellet wanted to meet her guide alongside the river" such a great chooser of safe places. Cue imperial snipers river east.

"Fair enough" I grabbed a pistol along with a few mags for it. "If things should go wrong and I can't grab my gun" I explained. Alicia nodded as I placed most of the mags into a pocket, loading one into the pistol. It clicked into place, so I pulled the slide back; loading a bullet in. "Shouldn't be too hard to guard one journalist, right?"

She didn't answer, instead looking at the tent Welkin, James and Catherine were in. would it be so bad? It's only one journalist. I made my way to what I remembered was the riverbank, where the two sections of my side of the squad, then led by Vyse and Rosie, split up. I headed down a small section of road, surrounded by grass with the river to the east and houses to the west. This was practically the only section of the city that was like this. Calm, peaceful…serene.

I walked along it, hoping to find this 'Ellet' person. I found myself looking more at the scenery then trying to find this woman. I'll be honest; I didn't look properly, and didn't find her. So she was either hiding or was very well concealed to begin with…or I hadn't looked hard enough.

"Guess I'm early" I said to myself. I put my gun away as I said that, doing another quick scan. Nothing again. Well, fair enough, more time to relax. I leaned against a wall nearby, looking at the river.

With all this war going on, I hadn't really thought about those that I ha 'taken'. I thought about the soldiers back at Bruhl. All of them that we had killed with our own hands. I looked at my hands, thinking about the others who had been killed before me. The soldiers of the Town Guard, including the one who got impaled in the chest, the soldier in the church whose head is now quite clear thanks to me holding him and Alicia shooting him. And those that had died around me.

My hands were shaking like hell once I was done. This war has only just begun, and yet its scars had already begun to show. Imagine what I'll be like at the end of this…Humanoid jelly. Hah, if only.

"Hmm, seems like you've seen your fair share of action" I heard a woman's voice comment.

"Yeah…I've seen a lot more then someone of my age should do" I replied…then I realised what had just happened. I lowered my hands, turning quickly and seeing the woman. She wore some green…golfing hat with a pattern to it. Her blond hair trailed around her, going down to her neck but no further. Her face could clearly be seen, along with her green eyes. She looked young, I'll give her that. She wore a white sleeved shirt, with green…trousers…whatever they wore in 1935. Some VERY long socks compared to what I was used to and brown shoes. In her right hand was a book, with a pen in her right. Hanging from her neck was a camera and handing from her shoulder was a bag of some kind. Thank god she was wearing civilian clothes or I would have had at least a heart attack.

"I take it your surprised to see me" she told me. What, doesn't the 'OH MY GOD!' look give that away?

"Just a bit" I replied…what, I can be sarcastic sometimes. Even more often if people don't realise it. "Can I help you out at all, miss?"

"Ellet" she put the pen on her ear, holding a hand out. I shook it, thinking of the name.

"Oh, Miss Ellet…interested in interviewing squad 7?" I asked her. She scratched the back of her head.

"Well I did organise it with Captain Varrot" so I asked a stupid question…great, what a start. "Are you the younger or the older of the Appleby brothers?" that caught me off guard.

"The younger…why?"

"Ah, so your Craig Appleby, the shocktrooper" she opened her book, folding the cover over and grabbing her pen, jotting down some notes. "Easily…scared"

"Hey, I thought we were in a peaceful area for the moment" I argued.

"I hope you and your brother are, I've read about you parents" huh?

"What about them?" Ellet closed her eyes and shook her head.

"If you want my details, you gotta get me a scoop" she told me, smiling. "Or, in this case, give me the tour Mr Appleby"

"Fair enough, and it's Craig, alright? I don't want to be getting mixed up with James"

She smiled and nodded, opening her eyes and showing me her list. I quickly read it, finding everyone on it, including Isara. It had several crossing outs where she had changed a detail. For example, she had crossed out brave next to me and put scared…hey!

"I am not scared easily" I told her. She laughed a bit, looking at me.

"I know what I saw, and it wasn't courage"

"Courage requires fear and non-instinctual reflexes" I told her. If you don't get what I mean, look at it this way, you don't naturally raise a shield to defend against a sword. You don't swing a sword to parry as an instinct and so on…look, I like swords, ok.

And so began our trawl through squad 7…

* * *

_If I had known where the interviews would lead, I'd'a left her to them._

_But then again, it's a good way to get to know the other squad 7 members better._

_Still…why me?_


	16. public service? how?

Chapter 15:

Public service? How?

* * *

_Ellet was an interesting woman._

_She was a fed, and yet she was welcome in Gallia…_

_Are the feds and Gallia closer then I know?_

* * *

Ellet pulled out her list again, going through the names, deciding who to go to first. I stood looking at her, keeping an ear out for any communications coming through from the higher ups. She made a lot of 'hmm's and 'ahh's as she decided, eventually putting her finger on a name.

"I think I'd like to start with this one: Hector Calvey" she told me. Well that was simple. And it hadn't taken too long. If this keeps up like this, we'll have everyone found by the end of today.

"Fair enough, give me a minute" I replied, then pushing the comms piece down to my ear. "Hector, you there?" oh wait, helps if these things are turned on. I pressed a button on the device, turning it on and hearing a bit of radio traffic between Lynn and an unknown male voice…I heard her say something like Karl, maybe that's his name. "Hector, you on this thing?"

"Reading you loud and clear" he replied. Thank god he's on.

"Where are you mate?" I heard a sigh on his end of the line.

"Is this about the VIP?"

"Hmm-hmm"

"I'm near the command tent, listening to your brother getting a lecture about orders"

"Anything good?"

"Well, apparently he also heard about your little punch up and gave him a chat about being a brother" oh, burn. That had to hurt. I couldn't help but smile to that.

"I'll meet you there, be advised, VIP has a TRP"

"A tape recorder piece? Is this going on the radio?"

"No idea mate, but we'll see" I looked at Ellet, seeing her looking at me quite oddly. "I'll see you there, hang tight" I turned the intercom thingy off, just hearing Lynn say something like 'love you'. Ok, strange. I turned to Ellet, nodding. "Follow me"

"Sure" she replied. We both walked off towards the command tent, hoping to catch the man himself.

As we walked past the portside, we saw a lot of Gallian soldiers…members of the regular army for once, running around, organising the defence lines so that they could attempt to hold the imperials if they attacks. Now, given the situation, what do you think would be the stupidest question to ask?

I think it is Ellet's next line:

"What are they preparing for?" I looked at her like you would a dunce, while walking to our destination.

"Must be an operation impending" that and the fact that we have a massive imperial battalion waiting over the river –might- have a little something to do with it, wouldn't you say?

"And how is the General?"

"Don't know, don't care" I haven't had the displeasure of meeting him. I say displeasure as I've heard…rumours about his conduct. None of them any good.

"You're not as talkative as I've heard"

"Well people have to change for the situation" I doubt you've killed people in life, Miss Ellet.

So, we went by them, eventually finding Hector. Ellet pulled her book open and got her pen out, the book resting on her arm with the hand holding a mic. Last I saw of Hector he was getting dragged off by Ellet for his interview. I heard a few bits and pieces, not enough to make a good profile of him. I saw Welkin walk out of the tent, looking stressed as he did so.

"Hey Welkin" I said to him. He turned to me and smiled.

"Craig" he replied. I walked over to him, scratching my arm. "Are you holding up alright?"

"I've been worse" I told him, trying to sound relaxed. "The operation went well, I think" oh jeez, that reminds me. "Did Marina pull through in one piece?"

"She's alright" he replied, moving his hat. "I heard your team took a few scraps" I held my hand up defensively, and then pulled out my mags.

"I'll live" I showed him the bullet mark. "Shame this got hit"

"They shot your gun?" I nodded. "You're lucky, that could have been your hand"

"I know" I smiled, placing it over my shoulder. "But I'm still here" he nodded, smiling. I turned around to check to see if Ellet had returned, then feeling a hand on my shoulder.

"I hear about the incident back at base" oh, that again.

"And?" I asked back.

"I've done what I can, but unless you wish to make a formal complaint against him, he is still going to be a member of squad 7" I smiled, turning back to him.

"I'll be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way" I looked down to the side as a soft wind blew. "He's my brother…I have to keep an eye on him somehow"

Welkin nodded, taking his hand off my shoulder. I heard footsteps behind me, seeing Ellet returning with a very confused looking Hector. Ok, I don't know what she asked, but I might want to find out before I go any further.

"Thanks for the interview Hector" she told him, placing a hand on her recorder. "That'll give me some material"

"Where to next Miss Ellet?" I asked her. she pulled out her note book again and walked around, deciding who to pick. I used this moment to sneakily ask Hector: "Mate, what did she ask?"

"Just what I did before now…what family I have…why I signed up…my plans for after the war…and Gallians next operation…" he looked down, which for a tall bloke like him, is a long way. "When I said I didn't know to the last three, she kept asking, pressuring me to answer"

"don't worry mate" I told him, patting his back. "It's over now"

This is practically how the day went on, with Ellet asking for a name, then a brief walk to where they were, then a small interview, then trying to find someone else, rinse and repeat. Always repeat. Oddly, when we finished with Nadine and Lynn, who were in two separate locations, instead of asking Catherine and Vyse's gang respectively for an interview, we went wandering off for another interview. These were the only two we did that to. Vyse's group were all asked together. Same with Edy and the girls (who were really bothered about looking good for it, considering it's a radio station). And I found out two important facts.

This is NOT a public service. If it were, it wouldn't be so ridiculous.

Edy CAN NOT AND MUST NOT SING EVER AGAIN. She tried to sing some old song which sounded oddly like calling to the night (as in the song) but the way her voice MURDERED it made it sound like something you'd hear in Frankenstein's monster.

So, we took the whole day searching and questioning, with Ellet getting a lot of material to use on her radio show. She smiled as she got to the last name on her list.

"Corporal Craig Appleby" she spoke. Oh dear, my time has come. By this time, our last victim, Wavy, had walked off. Wavy, you like helping people, please, SAVE ME!

"Fair enough, what can I do you for?" I asked her.

"Let's see now…First off, I'd like to know whether you have any family besides your brother"

"Well, with Ted dead, I presume that leaves Mum" Look, he may be my ad, be lost my respect when he had it away with the other ladies, you know what I mean. She wrote that down, pushing her glasses up.

"I guess you don't like your father"

"That would be an understatement, which I will not go any deeper into" family affairs so to speak.

"Fair enough…next question, why did you enlist to join the militia?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to protect this country from people like the imperials"

"Quick and simple. got it. Noble as well"

"Nobles my way"

"Fair enough, next question" she thumbed through her book. "Here we go, what do you plan to do after the war?"

"That's a good question" I hadn't thought beyond this war to be honest. Well, what would I like to be? "You know, I honestly don't know"

"Seriously?" I nodded. "Wow, now I think I know why James is concerned with you joining in this war"

"I chose to join because we need to protect Gallia. James wants to keep me out to feel like the boss" Ellet placed one hand on the side of her head.

"Yeah…sure" she didn't sound convinced, but I'm not here to do that now am I? "Anyway, moving on, what are your thoughts on Gallia's next operation?"

"That it'll go well" I told her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Anything else to add to that?"

"We took west Vasel easily…if this keeps up like it is, the imperials in east Vasel will fall just as easily" I nodded, smiling. Yeah, I believed myself. Yay.

"Thank you for your time" she turned off the recorder, breathing. "And that's that, all 21" she looked at me and smiled. "I'll be able to get a few good reports from this before I move on"

"It's been nice having you here Miss Ellet" I told her.

"It's been nice meeting everyone" she smiled, holding up a hand.

"If I may…" she lowered her hand, looking at me. "I need to know…during EW1, what were Mum and Ted?"

"Hmm, that is a strange question. Why not ask them yourself?"

"They never talked about the war" yes, lying on the spot, but I need to know. She sighed, pulling out some pages.

"I did my research before coming here" she held them out to me, so I grabbed them, flicking through them. There were about 5 pages in all. "In short, your mother was a sniper, and your father…"

"A shocktrooper" I guessed. She nodded. "Fair enough…can I keep these?"

"I have spares" these are full of writing? "Feel free" she looked around, smiling. "I'll be off then, maybe try and find another scoop before I go"

"Good bye Miss Ellet"

I walked off, leaving her to her own devices. I wanted to flick through these documents, and know what I had from who.

* * *

_Me and James are not proud of Ted. I don't care if he is my dad_

_He day he stopped caring was way after I did_

_I want nothing to do with him._

_Not even the same role_

* * *

Yeah, I don't like my dad; he hasn't spoken to me in…7 months so I gave up on him.

Actually, that's kinda ironic. Squad 7 and 7 months.

Meh, if it works it works. Besides, it is a conflict in my life, I try to be better then my him, and I'm sure James wants to be better then him as well. We're both broken in our own ways heh.


	17. night life of vasel

It's been a while since I've walked these halls.

Maybe I should try and get this updated some time

Now is sometime

* * *

Chapter 16

Night life of Vasel

_I had a feeling that I'd regret looking through those pages_

_But I had to know who did what in the old war._

_I didn't care what I found, all I knew was this:_

_I didn't want to end up like Ted_

The rest of the guys had gotten to sleep in the houses we'd been provided with. I was the only person still awake, sitting in my house while Vyse snored away upstairs. How Aika can sleep through that is beyond me, never mind Fina. Due to the blackout…well, imperials over the river and all, don't want to give them MORE targets now do we, I was at the desk with the papers scattered around, reading every little word, scanning every little subtext. I had managed to change into my civilian get up, thank god. That uniform is TIGHT and HOT!

The report basically went on about how our parents fought under Belgen Gunther (how coincidental and convenient) in the battles for Gallia in EWI. Turns out Ellet had lied. Mum was a scout while Ted was an engineer.

Sounds about the right thing for James, Keen eyes and all. I'm happy that I've avoided one massive pitfall into the realm of Ted. So I can relax a bit on that front. Still, Ted acted against orders at times, something James has inherited, but he pulled off a lot of operations. The destruction of the Kloden Bridge was his which, while crippling Gallia's southern flank, made the battle for Ghirlandio even better for Gallia as the Northern Federation brigade decided to focus on pushing the empire out instead of reinforcing Gallia. Probably the best and worst decision of the war.

All the while I'm reading this, I keep thinking to myself 'how noble, why didn't it last?'. It went into detail about Ted and Mum's relationship, which was cold to begin with but brightened up after a battle in Myuria, this side of the river in the south near Fed territory. This was half way through Gallia's war, which ended…December 13th 1920…the war truly ended 3 years later when the first emperor surrendered after Crimea defected to the feds.

According to this though, Mum…Private Karen Shooter (it's a coincidence she has that name) was a noble and kind woman, whilst Private Andrew 'Ted' Appleby was 'a good man but would falter in the face of women'. Sounds about right. Apparently he used a…Bruhl M class shotgun…looks more like a model 1887 from the pictures. Sounds like it works the same way too. Now, if that is correct, then that is a weapon I know. Crank action and so on.

Therefore I can use it.

"Craig?" I heard Fina ask behind me. I turned around, seeing the medic in her blue night gown from 'Archadia' (or something like that) night gown walking over to me, rubbing the sleep from her eye with a candle in her hand (NOT rubbing the sleep out of her eye using the candle obviously)

"Hey Fina" I replied, turning to her. "What's up?"

"I'm wondering what's up with you?" she replied, walking over to the desk and putting the candle down. "Still reading these are you?"

"Yeah…nice to know fighting a family tradition" I joked. She looked at me seriously.

"Does James know about this?"

"I haven't told him…don't intend to unless he asks" it's probably best, considering the amount of killing I have to do to Ellet…yes I know my grammar is wrong but really who cares: she told me dad was a shock and mum was a sniper. THAT'S 'light' lying. Fina stayed quiet at this, grabbing a few notes.

"Is that a sword in your father's hand?" she asked. I had a quick look, seeing it.

"No, it's may as well be. It's a combat club" Gallian thing, it may as well be an asp. "I don't see why he needed it. I think it may have just been for show" it looked more like a rapier. I doubt you'd want them in the field. Unless you had some sort of smoke grenade armament. And then you'd have to take risks to get close enough to use them. Fina placed her hand on my shoulder.

"He means a lot to you doesn't he?"

"In a way…I don't want to end up like him at all" Fina took her hand off, and I felt her eyes dig into me.

"What do you mean?"

"Trust me Fina, It's in the past…let's just say he left me, Mum and James for some woman when we were younger…I've been told I've been colder since that day" you can't sugar coat the truth I suppose. I felt Fina look away from me as I said this, leaning back on my chair. "I think I'm better for it"

"And James?"

"I don't know…" I didn't really ask. He's my older bro, he's going to be stronger than me…I hope.

Fina leafed through the notes, doing 'hmm' noises as she looks at particular pieces. I sighed, standing up and heading to the door. Fina seemed to know what I was doing, giving me a small wave.

I'll be back later, she knew that. I just hope I don't wake Vyse and Company up. I left the house as quietly as possible, steeping out into the street with my jacket billowing in the wind. Great, a windy night in Vasel…maybe I can find something to take my mind away from all this stuff. Something to do before the morning that won't hurt too much.

Let's see…the tavern got tanked, literally. Welkin told me that some imperials had taken a position here and he had to take them down. Shame the booze went with it. Might have been something to do.

This place is near enough a ghost town, with the many buildings containing establishments such as nightclubs, pubs, clubs and such. Now it's nothing more than a collection of disused buildings, most damaged through combat.

Who would be up at this time of night to talk to? Actually, no one. May as well sit down at the riverfront and try and get some air in my lungs…you know what I mean. Now to skip a short journey, I found my space, sitting in the grass with my back to a wall, looking over the river at East Vasel.

Hard to believe the enemy is so close and yet we can't do a thing about it. I bet if we talked we could find some peaceful ground….then again, they shot civilians back at Bruhl…I doubt they'd be willing to listen to us either way. Maybe if we beat the whole of the imperial army in Gallia and forced them back then maybe we'd stand a chance at peace.

Either way, we have to fight to claim our dream of freedom. Gallia needs us. I'm sure we are going to make a difference, no matter how small it could be. I pulled my pistol out, holding it lightly in my right hand, examining its details.

You know, know that I think about it, this looks more like a 1911. If it's anything like the side arm from back home, this should be very reliable, and easy to maintain…I can't believe I'm thinking of this stuff. Even after being here so long.

"Craig?" I heard someone speak. It was the almost Irish accent of Miss O'Hara. I looked over, seeing her with her rifle on her back. She was wearing a smart pair of blue jeans with a brown low cut top, along with a jacket. She still had ammo on her for some reason, along with a set of binoculars on the back of her belt, hanging near her backside.

"Hi Catherine" I replied, half smiling.

"What are you doing out so late?" I could ask the same of you.

"Clearing my head" I replied, looking away. Catherine sighed, joining me but standing up and leaning on the wall.

"Have you gotten used to battle yet?"

"I don't know" I held the valkyrur in my hand, aiming it dead ahead. She watched me, keeping an eye on my arms. I saw them shaking again. "It's less than before"

"You're getting used to it then" is that a good thing? "It'll get easier yet. Hold tight"

"Yeah…" I looked away, putting it away. "Can I ask you something Catherine?"

"Shoot"

"Back in EWI…was it as bad as this?" she sighed again, sitting down.

"It was worse…I'm surprised I survived to be honest" I looked at her, seeing her place her gun on her shoulder.

"What happened if I may dig up the past?"

"We fought in trenches mostly…you know what they are right?" I nodded. "Well, we were basically stuck in trenches the whole time. If you went out you'd get blasted to pieces by .50 cals" I know that to be mounted machine guns…I think…I know they make anti-material rifles with that grade of ammo in my world. "If you stayed in, you'd have to take cover from sniper fire, avoid the rats and trench foot and avoid the threat of gas"

"Gas?"

"Yeah…Chlorine Ragnide…Lethal stuff" she looked away, closing her eyes.

"Hate to ask, but what does it do?"

"first off, it makes your eyes water, makes it so you can't aim or see right. 2nd, it ruins your motor functions after a while, so if you don't get the medicines fast enough, your doomed. Lastly, it makes you froth at the mouth like rabies" that can't be a good way to go. "The worst bit of the war wasn't that, it was the fact that, No matter how bad it got, the generals still ordered us from the back lines. They didn't know what was going on…to them we were replaceable…" she wrapped her fist around her gun, her hands shaking as tears came to her eyes. "Because of them…" she looked down, tears now coming out. She was sobbing now…I don't know why but I guess it has to do with the fact that this will be her second war…poor woman. I put my arm around her, rubbing her arm.

"I'm sorry I asked Catherine…if it's too much then please, leave the retelling there" I told her. She looked at me, sobbing some more.

"I'm sorry…" she told me.

"Don't be. War is hell, even I know that. I can't imagine going through 2" she looked at me, looking…slightly better. "Your stronger then most of the group here for that" she smiled, pushing a tear from her eye.

"Thank you" she told me. I nodded, looking at her.

"I respect you for the simple fact you enlisted. I respect you even more for coming enlisting twice…after all you've been through" she half chuckled, smiling and looking away as she did so.

"I did what anyone would do"

"I wouldn't…not twice…I'll admit it" I've been through 2 battles (Bruhl carried on longer so it's one battle) and I'm a mess. Maybe I'll recover I don't know…hope I do. I sighed, not sure of what to say.

"Craig…you know how you and James 'get along'?" she changed the subject, and air quoted.

"I wouldn't say get along but yeah"

"You know back in the battle when James and me were caught in the church" I nodded, this should be good. "He was busy sniping around your position…trying to keep you safe" wow, he's looking out for me even now. Breaking orders to do so.

"Not being rude Catherine, but he still broke orders…I appreciate it all the same but still, he could have endangered the squad" I looked away, crossing my arms. "Maybe if he had acted as spotter at the same time, then maybe I could have let him off. But he didn't even do that. We were fighting blind"

"How do you know he didn't?"

"I don't recall hearing him over the radio telling us troop locations, do you?" then again, you were with him. You should know.

"Like I said: he was keeping an eye out for you"

"Well I don't need him to. I want to prove myself in the field without James protecting me every 5 minutes" it's frustrating when he thinks he's helping when he's actually not. "I understand that the rules of 'older brother' apply but I need to do my own thing"

She seemed to understand, looking away, moving her gaze to the full moon. I joined her, looking at the clear skies. I knew that, somehow, the battles would carry on either tomorrow or the day after. You can't be this close to the enemy without planning for battles again soon. The only questions are who leads what and when, along with how.

"It's a beautiful night" Catherine spoke after a while of silence.

"Yeah…shame we have to go to sleep" I replied, standing up after putting the pistol in its holster.

"You're going already?"

"We're going to have to be up early tomorrow, if we plan on retaking the whole of Vasel" and I'm sure we'll get a visit from 'oh so great' general Dame-ass…I mean Damon. I looked at Catherine, offering her my hand to help her up. "Besides, I have to do some maintenance on my gun, seeing as it got hit" Catherine smiled, grabbing my hand and pulling herself up.

"Well, it's been a pleasure talking to-"she started, stopping and looking around. I raised an eyebrow, looking around myself. "GET DOWN!"

She tackled me to the ground, both of us giving a small grunt as we hit the ground. Then I heard it, the sound of stone breaking. Then the sound of gunfire. The enemy had tried to snipe us.

Catherine scrambled off me, going into a prone position and aiming her rifle. I rolled over, looking at the other bank. The sniper was gritting her teeth, scanning the enemy position.

"Grab my binoculars and spot for me!" she shouted, looking around more as another shot rang out. I did as she ordered, finding the dirt next to me kinda exploding as the bullet hit it. I took the covers off, looking over the river through the glass.

Another shot rang out. This one hit Catherine as she yelped in pain. I scanned as quick as I could, trying to find the bastard.

"Nothing on the high ground" Catherine told me. I took the instrument away from my eyes, seeing a white glint in the moonlight as another shot rang out.

The riverbank. This bullet barely missed my arm. He's getting better. I put the binoculars on again, looking over the river one more time at the bank. I found him, standing as bold as brass in front of some grass. Bingo. Let's see, notable terrain…the pier.

"Target, left of pier" I told Catherine, she nodded, lining the shot up. The imperial took another shot, hitting my arm. I groaned in pain as the fiery steel penetrated my skin. I kept looking at the target, seeing him crouched and reloading. "He's reloading, take the shot"

Catherine took her time, making sure the shot counted. I heard the loud bang of the rifle as she fired, the bullet flying through the air. I watched it fly, seeing it dig into the guy's skull. "Head shot" the guy was still for a bit, swaying back and forth. Eventually, he fell forward, falling into the river. "Target down" we heard the splash, along with Catherine pulling the bolt back on her rifle.

"That was too close" she told me.

"You're telling me" I stood up again, offering my good hand to Catherine. She pulled her self up, putting her gun back on her back.

"Seems these snipers are getting good" we both walked off the river bank, getting back to the main streets. Making sure we were behind a house. She pulled out a thin knife, holding it over her wound and digging it in, flicking the bullet out. She exhaled loudly afterwards, obviously used to the pain. She looked at me, seeing the wound on my arm. "I can dig that out a well if you want, it'll help the ragnaide work better" I gave her an unsure look. "What's wrong?"

"I can't say having a bullet dug out with a knife is high on my list of things to do before I die" along with going to Europa the continent and fighting in a war for Gallia. Hey, these are quite low on the list.

"Oh, relax, it doesn't hurt much" she gave me an evil grin, holding the knife like a mad woman. I backed away, giving her a nervous smile.

She charged me, grabbing my bad arm and tripping me up. I fell onto the hard stone floor face down, with my arm locked behind my back. Catherine knelt on my arm, getting the knife into position. I gritted my teeth, expecting the cold steel to burn like hell as it dug in. I felt something dig in, and then two things fly out.

"All done" what? That's it? I was expecting more. She let me go, standing up. I stood up, looking between my wound and her. She was holding something in her hand, along with the bloodied knife. My wound didn't look that bad considering the two injuries in the same location. The sniper held out a ragnaid capsule for me, which I accepted.

"Thanks for that" I told her, grabbing the ragnaid, healing and letting the blue glow heal my wound. "I guess I owe you twice now" she blinked twice, looking confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You saved me just now with the sniper and helped with my injury" there we go, almost as good as new. A bit of after pain though. "I owe you twice" she shook her head at this.

"I did what a soldier and comrade would do to save another" she smiled, putting her hand on her chest. "I didn't do it so you could owe me" she turned away, even though I couldn't see it, I knew she was doing one of those evil smiles. "But if you want, you owe me one. You saved me and James in the church" she said that kinda fast. I half missed it, and then figured out what she said.

"You're on" I smiled, giving her one of my salutes. "Anyway, moving on, I think we'd better get some sleep"

"I know…I've got to get back to Edy and the girls…hopefully all of their makeup changes have been resolved" ouch, must be painful. "That's why I was out tonight, to get away from them"

"Hey, if it weren't for that, I might be dead right now" I smiled, scratching the back of my head. "Thank the goddesses"

"Thank the Valkyrur"

We stood in silence for a while longer. Part of me wanted to go to bed, another part didn't want to go to bed yet…she seemed to reflect this with her lack of movement. Wasn't there something I wanted to…OH YEAH.

"This is going to be a stupid question" I started, looking at Catherine. She nodded at this, listening. "The stained glass at the church…who was it depicting?"

"The stained glass? That's a Valkyrur, one of the saviours of the Europa. You should know about their legend" thankfully I do. "They were supposed to wield a Ragnite lance and shield, along with other forms of Ragnite weaponry" I guess that would explain the image of a lancer. "They were supposed to be all female, and would be surrounded in blue flame when they fought"

Blue flame? Why does that sound familiar? Almost as if I had…read a book on it…idiot Craig. Blue flames are what brought you here. Maybe they're the way back. I nod as Catherine finishes, now knowing a lot more than before.

"Thanks Catherine" I told her, smiling.

"Any time" she replied, turning around. "I'm gonna get some sleep, it's going to be a rough day tomorrow"

"Good night then"

We both turned our backs to one another. I knew I'd have to be extremely quiet when getting in so as not to wake anyone up…then again, I guess I could sleep outside…nah, better get into bed. I'm sure Fina would be extremely worried if I didn't.

_Blue flames. Valkyrur. Nothing like that exists at home, apart from the Valkyrie_

_I doubt these would be the choosers' of the slain. Well they might choose who IS slain._

_Either way I had found a clue to get home._

_With the Valkyrur being linked to the blue flame, maybe they held the key._

_I didn't know…but what I did know was the battle wasn't over yet._

_Not by a long shot. Or a sniper bullet._

* * *

That last bit didn't feel right for some reasons. If it's off kilter, my apologies.

Man I need some anti-writing-rust stuff. Anyway, nice to get this chapter done at last. And I had to have some excuse to get a chat with Catherine.


	18. disruptions

Chapter 17

Our mighty leader

_I think I should have seen it coming._

_How low would people be willing to go in war in order to win?_

_Then again, I had personal knowledge of their attitudes to civilians._

_I should have seen it coming._

That night…considering what had happened…I actually got a good nights sleep. We all got up around the same time…good considering I don't like early mornings. It didn't take us long to get into uniform, so we got out and had our breakfast early.

I had managed to trade a copy of today's paper (the Gallian) with Largo for a pack of cigars…I got them out of the closet of the house. Heck, I don't even know if there any good, never want to know personally.

The head line seemed to get my attention:

Gallia strikes back

Squads 2, 3, 5 and 7 deploy

Last night it was confirmed that the irregular army had been deployed to retake Vasel from the imperial invaders. Operation Phoenix began at 1000 yesterday and ended around 1200 after brief fire fights.

With the militia fighting and winning in the reclamation of West Vasel, the question now appears: if the militia; the supposedly weaker, less trained and inexperienced; could take West Vasel, why couldn't the Central army do the same?

When asked, the Military forces declined to comment. However, the common people of Gallia gave their verdict.

Fight on Militia! For Gallia!

How did this stuff NOT get censored?

"Seems we've hit the headlines" I told the group. Everyone was at the table, tucking into breakfast. Well, all aside from Welkin, Faldio and Varrot; they were planning the next operation.

"Well we made a difference didn't we?" Aika commented. How true, how true.

"I tell ya, if this keeps up the war will be over in less then a month" Vyse cheerfully commented.

"I doubt that Vyse. Since when are things this easy all the time" I told him, folding up my paper. "I wouldn't be surprised things get harder" he looked at me quite upset.

"Why are you so cynical?" I gave him a little chuckle, picking up a piece of bread.

"Because I've heard enough about Damon. And trust me; he'll want revenge for us doing better then his precious Centrals" Vyse nodded, as did the rest of the table.

"Have you heard the rumour by the way?" Catherine asked. We all looked at her, wondering what she meant. "Damon's coming this way…apparently he'll be here for the retaking of East Vasel"

"Probably watching from the back as most people like him would do" cowardly generals of WWI yet again. Damon really fitted the bill for that to my knowledge.

"Actually, he stands on the frontline telling his men what to do…he's always the first to scamper though, leaving his soldiers to fend for themselves when things go wrong"

He sounded noble until the second half of that sentence. Coward…how someone like him got so high up in the military is beyond me. Honestly, he can't lead, he won't fight and stays out of harms way…heck, I'd be better then him, and I'm no leader.

For what it's worth, I hope we don't get him trying to lead our squads…if he did, we'd probably be in more trouble then its worth. If he tried to lead me with his flawed and outdated tactics, I'd break orders just like that. I'd rather do that and face a court martial or whatever they have here, then follow orders blindly to my doom.

I looked down the table at teach, who had taken the crust off his bread and was doing an impression. Try and guess who of.

"Damn militia rats, doing better then the central army" he spoke, his voice sounding posh, deep and haughty. The group around him were laughing like hell at this point. "Why, when I get there, I'll show them how good my army is, by making the militia do the hard work. Then I'll kick the imperials out by beating them at a game of chess. Or better yet a river dance" that would actually be entertaining to see. News headlines: Gallia saved by the river dance! Imperials beaten! Feet: Blistered!

While this was going on, the group around Ted failed to notice three things. Two of them were Central soliders. They wore armour head to toe with the face exposed…well, not really showing the eyes. They held Gallian model rifles.

The third: an upper class looking, smartly dressed, rapier carrying, bearded, slightly obese and…actually nicely washed face wise. The man that we'd all been waiting for.

No not God, although he would have been a wonder on our side.

The hush and tension that befell the table as we all realised who was standing behind Ted.

Colonel Damon, commander of the entire army of Gallia.

I wouldn't want to be in Ted's shoes right now…especially given the fact that Damon looks VERY mad right now. If those cartoon effects were real, he'd have steam coming from his ears. He pulled a riding crop from somewhere. I stood up, as did the group around me. Ted's group stayed down.

"Ted, behind you!" Vyse shouted. Ted turned around, only to get a face full of pain. He almost immediately face planted the table, with a dull clatter of knives and forks. He got back up almost bemusedly as the group around him stood to attention, a tense hush falling over us.

"Hey what are you? A harsh critic?" Ted replied. The general looked even angrier. His soldiers stood between him and Ted, looking moody to say the least.

"You dare speak to the general like that?" they spoke in unison. The one on the left stopped. "You deserve that hit for that"

"I was having a laugh with my squadmates" he replied.

"LOUSY MILITIA VERMIN!" Damon shouted at the top of his lungs. I hope it was the top or he has some lungs on him. "I'm surprised you even retook this side of Vasel with that attitude"

"We get our job done sir" Damon was most definitely pissed at this point. I looked to Vyse and Aika, each of us nodding to the other.

"You are coming with me!" Damon ordered Ted. Ted shrugged, the soldiers grabbing him by the arms, twisting them tightly and the 4 leaving. I think we all knew what was going on. After that show Damon was definitely a crap sack.

"Vyse, Aika, follow me" I told them quietly. I wasn't about to let this happen.

We all stood up, putting our stuff to one side for cleaning up, then running after them. They were walking quite quickly through the streets, and Aika, myself and Vyse were moving sneakily, taking cover when we could.

The group got about 3 more additions by the time they got to the bar, and the nightclub yielded about another 3. That's 9 so far…9 on three. If we got Ted that'd be 9 on 4.

Not good odds.

They went into a back alley. I knew this one to have only one way in and one way out…it was also out of the way of most of the camps so the perfect spot to have a bit of 'fun'.

Vyse and Aika took the right side of the alley entrance, I took the left. We all looked in, keeping behind cover so we weren't seen. Two soldiers kept Ted held, whilst the others stood looking on, cracking knuckles. Damon stood in front of him, holding his whip.

"You militia vermin" he spoke, the malice evident in his voice. "How dare you speak of and to a superior officer like that"

"I was helping my squad relax. Can't you take a joke?" Ted replied. Damon quickly wound up a slap with his whip, hitting Ted in the chest. I looked away, the pain evident on his face too much to bear.

"I thought you'd have learned by now" Damon turned around, to which my group quickly shrank away. "Let's get started…he'll know not to mess with me afterwards"

"With pleasure" one of the soldiers replied. A few seconds silence, then the sound of a fist hitting flesh, and Ted cried out in pain.

This happened again and again, at least 5 times before I couldn't take it any more. I nodded to Vyse and Aika, coming out from behind the corner. I grabbed a stray broom, breaking the end off quickly and holding the resulting 3uarterstaff over my shoulder

"Hey!" I shouted. All of them looked at me, seeing all of us. "You want to do that in public, or would you rather pick on someone in a fair fight?" they all looked at us and laughed at our numbers.

"You Militia Dogs" Damon spoke, gently whipping his right hand. "You think you 5 can take us all on?"

5? Who joined us? I looked at our group, seeing James and Hector…JAMES?

"Oh we can and will" James replied, taking a stance. We all followed suit, knowing we'd have a fight soon. I heard a click in the background, looking around quickly for it…nothing. Must have been the wind or something.

"You should know when to admit defeat" Damon replied, swinging his crop forward. "ATTACK!" his men charged us.

"Take 'em down" I told my group calmly. I felt the steel of my pistol rattle on my arm…No, that would be cowardly.

I span my staff, running forward with the group with me. We both collided in the centre. I quickly pushed one back, jumping up and slamming the wood on his shoulder, then following up with a good kick.

He stumbled back a bit, and I landed on the ground safely, the main of the brawl going on behind me. Thankfully I only had one to deal with. Maybe Hector's getting his fill. Hopefully Vyse and Aika are doing alright, considering they are true fighters, and James….he'll make do.

"Militia swine" the soldier I was fighting told me. He charged me, to which I calmly counter by swinging my staff at his legs. He tripped, hitting the ground hard after flipping over and hitting the ground head first.

"Now stay down" I calmly replied, quickly thrusting my staff into his chest, then spinning round and hitting it full pelt. "Don't mess with my friends ever again" his body relaxed, as he slipped into unconsciousness. I looked back, seeing the guys practically done already. "And now for the head honcho"

"You Militia vermin!" Damon shouted. I flipped my pole as he said this, looking at him.

He must really be pissed at this moment…either that or he really wants to make sure his Centrals are the main focus of the papers. You see, in his rage, he is now holding a gun to Ted's head…A Darcsen class pistol…whoa; those are experimental at the most. How can I tell and how do I know? Well, the Darcsen class has a 7 shot mag with a very VERY VERY experimental scope. The section where the casings exit is on the right and the handle and trigger have leather surround for grip, and the chamber is reinforced to reduce recoil.

We all looked at him, wondering how he'd act, what he'd do and so forth. I dropped my handle, getting my gun out quickly and aiming it. I put the irons towards his head, gritting my teeth.

"Put the gun down or you'll be the one dying" I told him. He smiled, looking at me.

"You wouldn't pull the trigger…if you do, he'll live, if not, he'll die" he gave me an evil grin, putting the gun securely on his temple.

"Ted!" Aika shouted. The joker looked at us, giving us a serious look.

"Take the shot Craig" he told me, his voice sounded bad…heck, he looked bad. His face was a MESS! "Take the shot"

"Ted…" I spoke, keeping my gun trained on Damon. My hand shook as I willed myself to pull the tigger.

"Do it, Gallian dog" what? "Shoot or he dies" Gallian…hold on.

"You…" I took the shot, firing my pistol. The recoil travelled down my arm as the bullet left the gun with a loud bang.

The bullet flew

The bullet…hit a wall, narrowly missing Damon's head. He blinked, giving me an even bigger smile.

"Good bye one Gallian" he told me. Damn…sorry Ted.

A loud bang was heard

But not from his gun.

I saw his chest almost explode as a small hole opened in it. He let go of the pistol and fell to the ground in almost 2 seconds flat. Ted limped over to us as soon as Damon had fallen. Aika ran forward, giving him support.

"I'll take him to Fina" she told us. I nodded, turning around slowly.

"Who fired the shot that hit?" I asked.

"I did…"

Marina stepped into the alleyway, her sniper rifle barrel smoking. She held it in front of her, giving the end a quick blow. Alongside her was Wavy and Ramona, both of them armed. I scratched the back of my head.

"Do you mind filling me in?" Hector asked.

"It's simple, we're protecting you" Wavy told us, kneeling next to one of the soldiers and taking his dog tag off. "Imperial tag"

"How did you know they were…we didn't even know" Vyse told them. Ramona smiled, walking over to Damon's dead body, ripping the strips off and walking back over to us. "You see this" I looked at it…it looks like the Gallian Stripes for General…3 gold stars and 3 golden lances pointing up.

"Yeah, what's up with it?"

"It's not the trendy thing in the military to wear stripes of a rank you don't belong to" come again? "If this were Damon, he'd have only 3 stars. The lances belong to the royal guard" wow, good eye.

"So these guys…" James started, walking over to 'Damon'.

"Spies, saboteurs, assassins. Whatever you want to call them. Either way they want us softened up for our next battle"

"Seems a bit extreme in this stage of the war" I told them. Considering we are meant to be in the dying stages with Imperials winning on their side and our almost inevitable defeat on this side. Still, we need to be careful now.

If they really are doing black ops style operations to defeat us, we need to be on our toes. Before I left the alleyway I grabbed the Darcsen pistol from 'Damon' holstering it and walking out, leaving the sounds of gunfire behind me...

_Spies…assassins._

_Either way it meant we were in trouble_

_I doubt Damon would be happy. But I'm happy we saved Ted_

_The sooner we get the Battle in Vasel over with the better._

_After all, this place seems to be littered with issues_

_Both personal and physical._

_I just hoped the battle itself went well_

Something about this didn't seem right. Originally it was going to be a sniper shoots the pistol and he scampers off. But then the idea here made more sense. Then again killing Damon about…12 game chapters before Ghirlandio would be kinda wrong…unless I had a plan for that but that's another story


	19. the dark side of me

Chapter 18

The dark side of me

_With all this going on, you'd have thought we'd have had the sense to get along  
apparently not.  
And when old wounds resurface  
what are you meant to do?_

After what had happened with Ted, I had gotten the Darcsen class Pistol from the spy, and went straight to the tent Welkin and Varrot were inside. I heard them both speaking, along with…Faldio I think his name was. They were going on about how to break the lines on the bridge. Welkin up at this point, saying something about…drawing them in? I don't know…not my job to know really.

"Capt Varrot, Lt Gunther, may I come in?" I asked outside. The conversation stopped as I said this.

"You may" I heard Varrot replied. I pushed aside the sheet of the tent, seeing the trio around a table with a map of the area on it. I did a salute to them, then grabbing the pistol.

"Capt…this might belong to the guys down in R&D" I told her, holding the gun out. she raised an eyebrow, walking over to me and placing a hand around the handle.

"This is a Darcsen?" she asked. I nodded. "How did you get this?"

"Little incident involving some spies and Ted…nothing too serious" she'd find out later anyway. "Besides, if a fake is carrying a gun you consider to be experimental, you'd want it back" she nodded, saluting me.  
"Good work corporal" she replied. I smiled, nodding.  
"That's all I came here for, so I'll leave you to your plan-" I started, then getting interrupted by a certain baker shoving me over as she entered the tent. I didn't hit the ground too hard, so I managed to get up quickly. Alicia looked frantic as she gazed at Welkin.  
"Welkin, come quick, the squad is tearing itself apart!" she told him. We all looked at her as she spoke. After a while we turned to Welkin, who was rubbing the back of his head.  
"Maybe that's a good thing" he spoke. What the? "Sure they are going to butt heads…let them; they'll settle some issues that way"

I… face palmed I believe the term is, at this. He was going to let his squad fight it out in order to help them solve their differences? How much of that actually makes sense? The main difference among them is Darcsen and such. So how does Welkin's logic actually work?

"If you don't do something, the squads-" Alicia started. Welkin then looked surprised. I looked at Faldio and Varrot, seeing them both gauging Welkin.  
"Ok, ok. I'll see if I can sort it out" Welkin replied. He looked at me. "Come on, we'd better have a look"

I nodded as Welkin and Alicia ran out, quickly following them. Alicia led us through the streets to where the squad was holed up…and the entire squad were all looking at Rosie, along with…Largo.

"…is an incompetent idiot!" we all stopped as Largo shouted this, most of the squad agreeing with him. Isara stepped forward from the group.

"How can you say that?" she spoke, looking angry. "He's only had one battle to prove himself" half of the squad agreed with her.  
"Shut up, dark hair!" Rosie shouted, stepping out and stopping next to Is. She was almost one and a half times as high as the Darcsen so when Is looked at her, you couldn't tell if she recoiled in fear or backed up to look her in the eye. "No one asked you about anything you filthy pig!" Rosie, shut up now.

Suddenly, and seemingly with no provocation, Rosie grabbed Isara by the neck with her right hand, running over to a nearby wall and slamming her into it, back first. I watch in horro, then looked at the squad…the group I normally hung around with wanted to help, but most of the squad blocked them. Nadine, Wavy, Lynn and Ramona looked away, the girls covering their eyes.

I'm not standing for this. I don't care what gender she is.

"Rosie, what are you-" Is started, then getting punched in the chest by the woman.

"Shut it Dark hair!" she shouted. I walked over to Rosie, n idea in my head. "Whoever let you into this squad needs to rethink their ideals" Is breathed heavily as she tried to recover the wind in her stomach. The woman let her grip of the Darcsen go, pulling her arm back for another punch.

I grabbed her arm; the woman turning to find out what it was that had stopped her.

"You're going to stop…or I'll make you" I told her, in a somewhat evil voice. She gritted her teeth, looking at me, her face full of anger.

"Let me go, Pig lover, or you'll regret it!" she shouted. That was the last straw. I looked at her with my 'best' evil look.

"That's what you think" I kicked her left leg, the woman starting to fall to which I quickly flipped around, throwing her over my shoulder onto the ground, trying my best to copy that CQC Snake did in Metal Gear (if it not broke…). She landed back first, wincing on landing. She got up quickly though, looking at me.

"Oh no you didn't" what is she now? Cockney? I got into a stance, as did she. Welkin, it might be best to act soon. She brought her fists up as well, looking pissed.

"Is…you might want to get out of the way" I told her. She didn't respond…I heard footsteps but not much else…guess she's moved.

Rosie charged at me, with hr right arm behind her head, throwing a quick punch. I pulled my head back, dodging the punch by inches then countering, sweeping my foot under her leg, then grabbing the arm again. I did the flip again, throwing Rosie at the wall behind me…

Right next to a cowering Isara…

As Rosie hit wall with a dull thwack, I saw Is cowering next to where I had thrown her. Shit, I didn't know she was there. I grabbed the girl and picked her up, running to a different section and putting her down.

"It's alright" I told her…she's crying…the sobs are evident to anyone. "I'm here…I'll keep you safe…" I felt a hand grab my shoulder, nails digging in and pulling my up and turning me around. Rosie threw a clean punch to my face, hitting my on the cheek. I recoiled, trying my best to keep Isara safe.

At this point, the squad was cheering us on, obviously enjoying the fight. I recovered myself, running forward and bull rushing her. she sidestepped, tripping me up as she did so, making me fly to the ground like a hawk coming in for landing. The hard earth met my chin as I hit it. The dull pin ringing around my jaw. I winced in pain, but got back up quickly. I turned back to her, seeing her running at me.

This time I blocked the punch, raising my right arm in defence. She threw a second punch with her right arm, which I countered by grabbing her fist. She looked stunned to be honest, but then threw a kick at me.

"Bad move" I told her, grabbing her foot before it hit my crotch. Wow, such a dirty tactic. She looked very surprised by this, to which I smiled. "And now to counter" I did another CQC-eque move, spinning around and throwing her behind me. She flew for a bit as she did so, groaning every time she hit the ground and bounced twice before finally hitting a wall back first. She wiped blood from her cheek, as I did in turn.

I wasn't going to back down, neither was she.

"STOP THIS!" Welkin shouted, FINALLY coming into picture, running between me and Rosie. Alicia went behind me to check on Isara. "I don't know what has happened here but I do know our enemy is the imperial army"

"Tell that to the Dark hairs" Rosie commented.

"Now, can we please try and get along, we have a war to win"

"Well you see boss, we in the squad don't want you leading us any more" Largo spoke, walking over to Welkin, his cigar in his mouth. "We'd rather see someone else lead" a lot of the squad agreed. Damn.

"So you want a new leader?" the squad spoke a common 'yes' "fine, then how about this" he pointed in the general direction of Vasel bridge. "I'll have that bridge taken back within 48 hours" WHAT? Everyone looked amazed at this. "If not, you have command Largo…but if I do…you ALL fall into line" he looked at us all as he said this. Not that I have anything to be worried about. "You happy with those terms" Largo laughed at this, pulling the cigar from his mouth.

"You got guts kid" he told Welkin, smiling. "Fine, I agree" Welkin nodded, walking off.

"Just be ready to go" he finished, walking off. I looked at Rosie as Is and Alicia followed.

"We're not finished" she told me.

"Round two will have to wait" I told her, walking off after Welkin.

_For a girl, she sure can throw a punch.  
She sure didn't get the name 'Rosie' for her strength or personality  
either way, Welkin had thrown down the gauntlet  
I just hope he follows through_

* * *

This one…I knew Rosie hated Darcsens with a passion so…this chapter was born.

Besides, the gauntlet…that was going to be fun to write anyway.

Needed something to happen for it to occur.


	20. we're placing hope on a pigeon?

And now the fun begins

Chapter 19

* * *

'We're placing hope on a pigeon?'

_This is probably me being annoying_

_But the way Welkin was so determined to win that bet_

_I wouldn't have been surprised if he has some ace up his sleeve._

Ok, now running after Welkin and company after what had just transpired. The squad was almost being run on Mob rule, and I didn't want to be part of that. We all went to a sheltered bit of the riverside, keeping safe from the snipers on the other banks. Welkin sat down on the side as the sun started setting (they took a long time, I know that much, either that or we had gotten up a lot later than usual…or the fact that the amount of stuff that had been happening had taken a while) Alicia and Isara next to him, the Baker with her hands on her hips, almost pouting.

"Welkin, what were you thinking?" she asked him. Welkin took his hat off and looked at her. "You think you can take the bridge back in 2 days?"

"It's possible" he replied, giving her a confident look whilst rubbing the back of his head. I could tell from the fact that Alicia gave him a good smack around the back of his head that she wasn't so convinced.

"Something tells me that you might have a lot more fire support then we know about if you're that willing" I spoke. They all turned to see me, and Alicia definitely looked angry…Isara…she didn't exactly look happy.

"What makes you say that?"

"The amount of imps on that side of the river, you'd need either a hell of a lot of field guns, mortars, tanks and sniper support fire at least in order to get the imps out of the town, never mind keeping them out" to say I'm not a fan of fighting in general is obvious, but I don't fancy the idea of house to house fighting. I know I keep saying this, but the amount of times I've died in games in suburban fighting conditions should tell you one thing….apart from the fact that the houses might have looked nice but then you didn't see them so how can you tell?

"Well I can safely say that I'm operating with only sniper support fire and this squad" oh joy, 20 odd people and a couple a snipers. Why don't I feel confident about this? "But you'll see, we can do this" he looked out to the river, and I stepped forward, standing behind him. "Ah, it's early"

What the heck is he…you know what, don't answer that. Knowing my luck so far, he's on some Gallian super drug. He pointed something out over the river, which we all looked at. We saw a small white bird flying out over the river, skimming the water's surface with a wing.

"Welks, is that…?" Isara started, stopping to look at her brother nodding.

"A Crimean Laguz sparrow" Welkin replied. Laguz…so we have Gallia, Crimea and now Laguz. How many more references does this world have to Fire Emblem? What next, a magic staff that teleports people? Armour that is blessed to prevent any injuries unless hit by another blessed weapon? Warriors with sacred blo- oh wait, the Valkyrur have sacred blood. Damn it. Alicia and I exchanged confused looks, then both of us looking at Welkin.

"Erm…boss, how does that help at all?" I asked…I used boss for once, alright.

"A Crimean Laguz Sparrow is very sensitive to conditions in the air" Is told me, smiling. "They only fly that low when they feel that the temperature is beginning to match the Dew point"

"And that means?" Alicia asked, almost as confused as me.

"The temperature tomorrow is around 77 degrees Fahrenheit" Welkin told her. And that means… "So with that coming down so low, the dew point for tomorrow is also 77 degrees"

"Welkin, I'm going to be honest right now" I told him, rubbing my head as it ached from his nature mumbo jumbo. "I didn't understand most of that" Alicia looked the same. "Can you dumb it down a shade for those of us who don't have such a good education and or may be younger then you and or just don't know these things?" he nodded, getting the hint that my age meant I didn't know as much as he.

"Basically, when the Dew point and the temperature are within 3 degree's Celsius of each other; or 37.4 Fahrenheit, there will be a lot of water vapour in the air and it will feel like you're walking in a cloud"

"I said English, not nature mumbo jumbo" walking in a cloud? Please, someone send me the memo when Welkin plans on explaining something in plain English, I'd rather know what he's saying so I can translate this into English.

"Fog" Isara answered. "Very dense fog" I think I can see where this is going.

"A naval attack?" I asked, almost in disbelief. "You think we can break through them using the fog and attacking them from behind?" he nodded. Alicia and myself both exchanged looks once more, and I scratched my head. "That and they are bound to have tanks and we won't do"

"What makes you think that?" Is replied. I looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"You guys have something planned don't you?" I asked. Alicia scratched her head and Welkin gave me a curious look.

"Maybe?" he looked at Isara, both of them nodding. "You'll just have to wait and see to find out"

If I'm honest, I'm worried what he has planned. Then again, considering all that's happened in the space of a few days I guess I should cut him some slack. I just hope the chaos isn't getting to him. I nod to him, turning and walking away.

"Just be sure that, whatever you have planned, it holds water" I told him, giving him one quick glance. "You do realise we're placing hope on a pigeon, right?" leaving them to their devices.

* * *

_A naval assault…in fog….with sniper support and no tanks._

_Scratch that, a naval assault in fog as the snipers are pretty much useless in fog._

_I wasn't hopeful that it'd succeed, I'll be honest._

_But I had to hope. After all, this is a war._


	21. operation Cloudburst part 1

Let's see how this one goes.

This one I had an idea over for a while. It also goes along the lines of Metal gear…sorry. I know I keep referencing that, but some themes do come in handy.

* * *

Chapter 20

Operation Cloudburst part 1

Breaking the Tide.

_Knowing the imps, we had a hard time ahead of us_

_But with Welkin leading us, I had hope._

_But the thing was, breaching their lines._

_The plan had better be good.

* * *

_

Paladine (roughly Saturday, don't ask) 25th March 0500 hours.

Weather: dense fog, slightly cold. Low wind speed

As we all prepared for the operation, a grim atmosphere descended upon us. Our 2nd battle to retake Vasel, without tanks and with a questionable leader (to most). Not knowing the numbers of the enemy and not being able to see over the bank.

For all we knew, they were waiting…waiting for us to attempt breaking the siege. It was unsettling, but at the same time, inspiring. We were going to be the heroes of this battle, forcing them out of Vasel, once and for all.

As we all packed the boats, we had gotten split into teams. I was set up with Fina, Aika, Vyse and Alicia, as the boats only took 5 people. The lancers are going to have fun with these things that's for sure.

Alicia, Fina and I were finishing packing our gear as the others were doing the same. Vyse and Aika…well, they had said something about fetching some useful weapons from their rooms. I don't know how they can have anything useful seeing as the water would ruin the guns and we are attacking them with the best we have anyway.

"Sorry we're late!" Vyse shouted. Our group stopped as we saw the pair running towards us, both with the weapons I'd seen them with on the day I first met them. Vyse's swords on his back, Aika's boomerang attached to her leg. They both stopped, breathing heavily.

"What took you so long?" I asked, looking at them.

"We got orders from Welkin to grab these for the operation" Vyse explained, Aika stretching off.

"Something about a little scheme he had ready for the battle" she told me. I nodded, looking at the other two.

"This should be good" I told them. Alicia and Fina got ready to go, sitting in the boat. I turned, about to go and join them when Vyse placed his hand on my shoulder.

"The Boss sent some orders about us three getting ready" he told me. I turned around, looking at the guy. "He said about wanting us to sneak over"

"Sneak over? How?"

"Well, he said about needing some weapons that weren't guns. So we got these babies"

"And this relates to me how?" Vyse smiled as I asked this, producing a knife, held by a sheath of sorts. He passed it to me, and as I pulled the blade out, noticed that it was…nothing more than a kitchen knife. Long, granted but still, I was hoping it was a combat knife. You know, one of those fancy serrated blades made for combat… "I'm guessing this is hinting something…I'm just worried what"

"Ever felt like going for a swim?" Aika asked, as the pair embarked. I raised an eyebrow.

"What does that mean?" I spoke as I followed them into the boat.

Relatively 0530

We had all finished packing relatively quickly, with everyone ready to go in no time flat. After a while, the Edelweiss appeared, grinding along the riverbank with some extra plating. It stopped behind the boats, just about behind the centre. The hatch opened as it stopped, Welkin jumping out and running over to us, holding a blue tube of some sort.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked us. We all nodded…I was most likely nodding out of a sense of 'WTF IS GOING ON!' if that makes any sense at all. "Right, the plan is that you guys go and breach the bank"

"Sounds easy" I commented.

"When you get halfway, I want Vyse, Aika and Craig to climb out the boat and swim to the shore…" WHAT! WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO GIVE ME THAT MEMO! Well…it's nice to know that people care about passing on orders. Now remind me to shoot whoever that was as I'm pretty sure that was a –small- detail to forget. "…and then light this on a safe section of shoreline" he passed the tube to me…oh…it's a flare…Welkin, erm…what about the flare gun? "When we see the light, the Edelweiss will follow and make a camp on river side and await the others to follow. We'll have to be quick once the operation begins, but with the way things are, we should be able to kick the imps out"

I looked away, my mouth open wide from surprise. He was expecting us three people, with no firearms and one with no experience in sneaking around…someone get the wills ready.

"You ready?"

"Let's get on with it" I spoke, everyone nodding. Alicia turned the outboard up a few notches, trying to get moving whilst keeping the noise level down. I took all my guns and ammo off me, placing them down in the boat. I placed the knife and the flare on the inside of my belt..

This is going to be entertaining.

_I was nervous_

_who wouldn't be in my shoes_

_we were the guys who would secure a foothold_

_we fail...and its a lot more then us who fall out here  
_


	22. operation cloudburst part 2

Ok, I've been working this out. I've got…5 battles over 21 chapters so far (with cloudburst obviously underway now) so it seems the average is like 4 chapters between an operation.

Now, with 18 chapters in the game (not including the reports…4 combat reports IIRC) we have…at least 72 chapters or so….but I doubt I'll be staying that low. I know most of these battles are going to be multi-parters, and I know a lot of junk is going to take place later on in the story. I shouldn't have to spoil too much to let you know what I mean, but I know I have a lot of plans beyond that. So…who knows, I might split this down the middle at a certain point if it gets too big.

If I do, I'll tell you guys when it's going to be split off, so don't fret.

And I've been meaning to do this for a while, but when I'm typing this out I'm offline, then when I upload it, it slips my mind. I have thanks you.

DC20: I owe you big time man, your input on the story has been priceless, mate. If I could, I'd buy you a beer (so have an E-beer through the internet )

Beriothien: the aid with grammar and…I think the term is psyche of a social group (I'm hoping you know what I mean, but how groups have groups within those groups) has helped a lot. I owe you an e-beer as well.

BlindFury the Ultimate: (I couldn't actually find your FF, so I couldn't actually reply to what you reviewed with) It was nice to know what you thought about the chapter. And with the metal gear thing…CQC is a mostly defensive martial art…obviously fictional, but it's mostly making use of openings your opponent leaves when he attacks you, along with knocking them out and such.

Benny234 the Solid Wolf: ok, I'll be honest, when I suddenly started drowning in about 20 reviews in the space of 12 hours, I was scared. Honestly, that's the most reviews I've had in the space of 24 hours in the year I've been on this site. Anyway, some of the things you put (namely taking weapons a la metal gear (WOOT)) are good. I do have some plans relating with Catherine and Rosie…hopefully good but…well…who knows.

: ok, if I'm honest, I had to read your review a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting a review like that as I've been told in the past that combat and excitement aren't my specialities. Thanks a lot man.

Also, thank you to everyone else who has faved and/or added an alert to this story. It's nice to know people like this story.

Anyway, that aside, time to move on to new and….exciting things. (this took up nearly a full page, but it's worth it)

* * *

Chapter 22:

Operation cloudburst part 2

'Like a ghost'

_To say I was scared of our new orders…_

_You get the picture by now._

_To be honest though, with the amount I've done so far, this should be a piece of cake._

_Well…except for the sneaking part._

* * *

**Time: 0900**

**Location: river front, Vasal east bank.**

Now, when your underwater sneaking over to enemy lines, why is it that the first thing that comes to mind is 'boy it's cold in here'?

I'm serious, as Aika, Vyself and Myself climbed out of the boat into the water, my first thought wasn't of the mission, it was 'boy it's a bit nippy in here' whilst clattering my teeth. Now, after surfacing once to get a breath of air after nearly drowning upon hitting the wet stuff. Alicia held a map up for us to look at.

"There's a lightly guarded piece of land here" she told us, pointing it out. A drop from my hair landed near it. "What Welkin has asked is that you secure it and give us a signal when you've gotten it"

"Hence the flare" I told her, checking it was still strapped to my belt.

"We've got a quick change of clothes for you when the landing starts, so that you don't get killed by hypothermia" Fina told us, patting a chest of sorts. "It won't be as good, defensive wise, as the uniform, but at least the cold won't kill you" I think I'd rather die warm with bullet holes in me then of the cold…that isn't sarcasm, I'm a warm blooded human am I not? Well, last I checked I was…unless that's changed in the last 5 minutes.

"It'll do nicely Fina" Vyse told her, Aika looking at me. "You two ready?"

"As ever" I told him.

"Let's go baby" Aika replied, taking a deep breath and diving. Vyse looked at me, nodding then following Aika's example. I looked at Alicia and Fina, sighing.

"I'll see you later" I told them, taking a deep breath.

"Before you go" Alicia started. I exhaled, looking at her whilst kicking my legs once more, kicking my legs once more to float just a bit longer. "James is going to be one of the last people up when we start. Welkin wants him to stay near the tank. Take out enemies in the streets and such"

"I see…and you're telling me this now because…"

"What are the odds of him actually following that order?" why the hell are you asking me this NOW?

"I don't know…heck, I don't know what's going through his mind half the time now" I looked away, feeling something grabbing my leg. "You'll have to excuse me, but I think I might have to go for a di-"

I didn't even get to finish before getting dragged under the water. I was shocked to say the least, almost breathing in some water as the hand let go of my leg. I looked around, seeing Aika smiling. _I'll get you for this_

She pointed behind her, Vyse looking at me with crossed arms. He turned around, swimming away from me, Aika following. A fish took me by surprise, swimming very close to my face. _Cute_

**A few minutes later (along with a few moments of resurfacing for air)**

I surfaced slowly near the bank, Vyse and Aika having done the same. I looked around, seeing a soldier looking away from the river standing at the end of a pier, almost TOO easy to take down. I slowly pulled my knife out, as Vyse got out a sword and Aika got her boomerang out.

"Craig" Vyse whispered, getting closer to me. "Can you take him out? Your knife is better for this" huh? Taking him out? I nodded nervously, looking at the guard.

"Can do" I replied, swimming forward slowly and silently, being careful not to make a noise. I stopped just before the pier, flipping the blade around in my right hand. Ok Craig, Focus. You've gotta do this or you're going to regret this. I placed my right hand carefully on the sodden wood, taking a quick breath as I looked around, seeing no one else around the area.

Right…just like in the games…I breathed deeply, looking up, seeing the back of the soldier.

I dragged myself up and lunged at him, grabbing the armour at the back of his neck and quickly dragging him into the water. I heard a quick 'wha-'before he hit the water. I went further down, dragging him further under the water and adjusting my grip so my hand was in front of his mouth. He let go of his rifle as he went for my arm, trying to pull it away.

_Sorry about this, but it's you or me._

He struggled in my grip as I dragged him further under, pulling my right hand around so the blade was at his neck. He saw this, grabbing my arm and trying to keep it away from his body. We fought under the water, bubbles floating away from both of us as air escaped. After what felt like an eternity of grappling with him, adrenaline coursing through my veins every second of it, he pushed my arm back a small way, to which I, mistakenly, opened my mouth to grit my teeth.

Water filled my mouth and more precious oxygen left my body. I yanked him backwards quickly, banging my back on a bit of wood as I moved. I saw bubbles leaving his mouth as well, quicker then it left mine. Time to end this.

With my left hand I let go, quickly punching him in the face. His head flew back a bit, his hands letting me go. Thank you. My right arm dug into his space, the blade going into his neck. He stopped struggling as both arms went to his throat, bubbles appearing and floating up like a waterfall in reverse, along with a red sea of blood pouring into the area. I grabbed him with both arms, letting him die underwater.

He stopped after what felt like an eternity. His arms and legs seeming to give way to the weightless effect of the water. I let him go, surfacing as I did so, leaving him to sink beneath the tide, his red fog going with him.

Leaving the cold dank world below me, I hit the surface, inhaled deep mouthfuls of air as I did so. Thank god I was out of that. I looked around, seeing Vyse and Aika on the pier. I swam over to them, Vyse holding his arm out for me.

"I never want to do that again" I told him, grabbing his arm and pulling myself out.

"It didn't look like fun" he commented…well no shit Sherlock. What was the first hint? The fact that I was FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE or what? He got his blades off his back, Aika already holding her Boomerang out.

"You ok baby?" Aika asked. Well, it was scary, deadly, wet, cold, life threatening, mentally scaring, maddening and painful….yeah I'm feeling Fine.

"I'll tell you later. Let's get this op done first" I told her, cleaning the blade off. My god, my hands feel like they still have blood on them. "So, where to now?"

"Just a bit further south. I chose this section for a reason" Vyse smiled as said this, flipping one of his cutlasses around in his hand. "Anyway, you get the drill from here, right?"

"Whispers if you need to talk, otherwise, like a ghost"

"Ghost? Where?" Aika asked, almost in a panic as her gaze darted about the scene. Vyse placed a hand on her shoulder, patting her.

"Relax Aika. There are no ghosts here" he told her, Aika looking at him. "Craig was just using that as an analogy" was I? Who knows there might be ghosts here?

"Oh….phew" she looked at me, breathing a sigh of relief. "Please, don't do that again"

"Ok, be like a Gespenst" try figuring that one out. She nodded, getting my drift.

"We should stick together and be on the look out for imps" Vyse told us, now whispering. "Stay low, stay quiet, and keep looking around" I nodded, flipping my blade in my hand. Aika followed suit, but kept her hands still. "Let's move"

Ok. Let me be brutally honest about the empire's tactics right now…this city is supposed to be under lockdown. No one gets in, no one gets out, no one walks the streets, ETC. so how is it that 3 armed people can just waltz in, soaked with weapons and wearing GALLIAN ARMY UNIFORM! And never be challenged.

Seriously, the streets were pretty much a ghost town. No civs, no imps, no one. It was almost too quiet. After a while we heard the roar of a tank engine, darting into the nearest house. Vyse took the door, Aika and myself at the window.

A few large red tanks drove by, each armed to the teeth with cannons and machine guns. I kept near the edge, my back to them with my head looking. Man, the ones at Bruhl were big enough. How much bigger do they get? There was also a large escort going by, loads of men, a bigger number then the Gallian troops in Vasel at the minute.

"You heard about the west bank?" one of them spoke, holding his rifle tightly.

"You mean about the troops who attacked?" a second spoke. I heard him pulling a bolt back. "Yeah, I heard"

"Wasn't Otto over that side?"

"Yeah, he was-"

"Otto? You mean the shocktrooper of Bismark?" a third soldier spoke.

"Yeah, the one who fought alongside her" the first one commented. her? Who is this –her-?

"Wow, he's meant to be an elite. How'd he lose to some Gallian scum?"

"Caught off guard" second one. "Still, we're taking it back soon…we're setting up to back the other bank soon. Operation time: eleven hundred hours" 11? Jeez these guys are fast.

"Defensive positions on the bridge?"

"Numerous, but they won't be expecting an attack under the fog" one of them laughed

"I can't wait to see the look on their faces as we attack under cover of fog" well, I wonder what you'll be like after this.

The conversation went away, as did the sound of tanks after this, we stayed out of sight for a bit longer, Vyse on lookout so we could get by safely. He gave us the signal to move, each of us moving slowly and carefully, making sure we didn't make a sound.

We made it from Vasel riverside, down Valkyrur way, past the Barious and Naggiar Swift tavern on Lodestone way (better remember that for later so I can get myself some alcohol…maybe if I drink enough I can just go home, but that'd be too easy). The first sign of any life in this town was when we got to Bruhl Crescent (how coincidental).

As it turned out, they had 5 imps positioned here to watch the river side. Now, whilst they weren't doing their job right, due to talking to each other and blatantly ignoring the water, they had an eye on each other.

"Great" I spoke, peeking down the road from the corner, a nearby alley being the only real hiding place down here. "How do we take all of THEM out with out setting off an alarm?"

"You think that is hard?" Aika asked, smiling as she flipped her boomerang around. "I bet I can do it" with a boomerang?

"Might be worth trying" Vyse asking, seemingly unsettled by this place. "It's up to you Craig…I can vouch for her skill"

"Do it then" I told her, giving her space on the end. "Just make it count"

She nodded, going to the corner and holding her boomerang tightly in her hand. She looked at the targets, getting an idea of what to do. Suddenly I heard something…footsteps…from behind us? I turned around, seeing a small imperial patrol, not too far from us.

"Change of plan" I told them, Aika stopping and looking at me. "Hide" we quickly moved to the alleyway, hiding behind bins and –other- items of 'interest' (suffice to say, I'm never looking at veg the same way ever again, not after the close up I'm getting laying down near a bin bag of the stuff) the imperial patrol of about 4 men appeared at the end of the alley, each one holding rifles and looking around. I heard my heart in my ears as they looked around.

"Soldier" the apparent leader of this group spoke. "Report"

"Sir" one of the soldiers spoke, running over to him. "No sign of the enemy sir. At this rate it looks like operation Excalibur will go without a hitch" Operation Excalibur?

"Excellent. I want you and your team to join the assault force" the soldier gave a quick salute, the group of 5 running off by him. The head soldier….an officer I guess, turned around, pointing at his men. "You two, take position here and keep an eye out for Gallians" two people saying sir, and then running by him. That ought to make things easier. I shifted my weight, trying to get comfortable.

Dung!

Shit.

I looked at my foot, seeing it now kicking a nice lead pipe….way to go me. Aika and Vyse gave me a look of both anger and annoyance. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. The officer looked down the alley, holding his gun towards it. Shit, he's onto us. Vyse flipped his blades in his hands, getting ready to lunge out.

"Whose there?" the officer asked, moving slowly towards us. I felt my heart beating so fast you couldn't tell if it was a hummingbird or my heartbeat. "Show yourself?" he got close to Vyse's position, his footsteps echoing as he did so.

The swordsman got ready to lunge at him.

"Front Quad to River Digger, Front Quad to River digger, come in" a crackling voice came on his radio. He paused, looking at the alley again. "River digger, come in" a meow echoed from the bottom of the alley, the soldier lowering his gun and sighing as a cat ran out, then putting a hand to his ear.

"River Digger here. Sit Rep?" he asked.

"Operation Excalibur is a go. Report to the HQ for debriefing"

"Yes sir" he lowered his hand, giving the alley one last quick look. I waited with baited breath, wondering if he'd leave or spot us.

"Damn cat" he commented, turning around and leaving the alley. We waited a bit after he left, then each of us breathing out of relief.

"That was too close" I commented, then getting looks from Aika and Vyse. "I'm sorry, alright. I didn't see the pipe"

"Next time, look" Aika told me, turning and leaving the alley.

"Still, it was a thrill" Vyse commented, smiling and leaving. True.

Aika looked out the alley carefully, checking both sides before sneaking out. We both followed her along the cold stone roads. The two soldiers from before were looking at the river, making sure no boats could come and get them. Aika and Vyse exchanged a look, both of them standing up and running full pelt at the pair.

The soldiers turned around at the last second, and then crying out in pain quickly as a blade went through them. Thankfully it wasn't too loud. They fell to the ground, dropping their guns as a long slash appeared in their chests, two on the one Vyse attacked. They stood still for a while, breathing to decompress from the act, blood staining the bladed side of their weapons as more slowly pooled beneath the two bodies.

"Too easy" Vyse commented, smiling as he looked at me. "Come on, get that flare off" I blinked, wondering what he meant, and then remembering.

"Oh, right" I pulled the device off my belt, running over to the riverside. "Hope you'll see this Welkin" I pulled the end of the flare off, giving it the spark.

And nothing, no light.

I put the top back on, pulling it off a second time.

Again, nothing.

"Damn piece of junk!" I moaned, repeating the same act as before, this time getting a reaction of a bright blue light coming from the end. "Perfect" I held it above my head as Vyse and Aika stood by my side, waving the flare proudly.

"Let Operation Cloudburst begin!"

* * *

_That one op was the bridgehead to an even bigger op._

_If we failed, we'd have had nothing to breach the line with._

_But in the end, we made it_

_Now to kick the imps out of Vasel._

* * *

Well, I hope this was worth it. I certainly enjoyed imagining this scene.

Let me know if you like the idea presented in this chapter (stealth or black ops as they may be known) and I'll see what I can do for more things like it.

Anyway. With this done, part 3 coming soon


	23. operation Cloudburst part 3

Chapter 22:

Operation Cloudburst part 3

Hold the fort

_With the signal given and our job done._

_All we had to do was wait…_

The flare died down after a while, to which I dropped the spent tube. "It's done" I commented, turning to Vyse and Aika. "We'd better hide so that we-"

"FREEZE DOGS OF GALLIA!" someone shouted. We all looked towards it, seeing 12 soldiers all pulling bolts back on rifles, four of them kneeling in front. They all aimed at us, the guns gleaming in the foggy sun.

"Great" Aika sighed, all of us raising our hands in surrender. I looked around, seeing not a lot to use as cover in case of a firefight. There was one small ruined building, almost a stone shack. It was near enough a waist high wall…and then it wouldn't last long under fire…heck, I bet if we encountered one bullet it'd fall apart….or even just an evil glare.

"McGuire, Lazarus, Mctarvish, get behind them so we can march them to the HQ for…a bit of a questionnaire" one of them ordered. Three on the front row stood up, moving forward towards us. It didn't look like there'd be much of a way out of this besides that. Aika and Vyse looked at me, and I tilted my head towards the piece of cover, the pair looking at it, then me and nodding.

As the soldiers got near us, I looked down, keeping my gaze away from the soldier. He prodded me in the chest with his gun.

"Move, dog" he ordered. Perfect.

"Sure" I spoke, looking at him. "I'll move"

I grabbed the barrel of his gun, throwing a kick at his crotch. He recoiled as my hard boot connected, backing up and doubling over in pain. I quickly yanked the gun out of his grip, turning it around and pointing it at his head.

"I moved" I pulled the trigger on the gun, a bullet flying out after a loud crack, the soldier's head getting a rather large hole in it. As he began to fall forward, I grabbed him, seeing Vyse and Aika having done the same. As we charged towards the wall the other 5 started firing at us, giving us a commando scene as they fired, missing about twenty….five times? Something like that- WHY AM I COUNTING?

The body I was carrying got hit a few times, which was a flipping miracle as I dived behind cover. I put my back to the wall, checking the gun I had….let's see….5 bullet mag, 4 left, Iron sight is a bit large but then again, should be able to kill a few of the bastards. I grabbed what was left on the body, getting 5 mags and 3 grenades, tops.

"You ready to go?" I asked Vyse and Aika, re-inserting my mag and pulling the bolt back.

"It's not my specialty but I'm ready for a challenge" Vyse replied. I looked at him, seeing him smiling.

"Bang Bang Baby!" Aika shouted, reaching over the little cover we had and firing a small volley.

I leaned around the corner, throwing the dead body out and watching it get riddled with bullets. I leaned out, aiming quickly and firing. 2 shots in and I can notice the difference already. Gallian rifles have less recoil and power then these, and better iron sights.

I fired a third shot, quickly looking down the irons and aiming at one of them. He saw me aiming, pointing his gun at me and firing. I fired as well, then feeling a burning pain in my left arm. He went down, clutching his shoulder as he went prone. I retook cover, yanking the mag out and throwing it to one side, and then grabbing a new mag and placing it in. First attempt was strange…as bullets ripped my cover. I put the mag in and…it apparently didn't stick…as I took my hand away it fell out. I grabbed it again, this time giving it a quick whack to make it dig further in. this time it stuck. I yanked the mag back as Aika and Vyse restarted.

Ok, a second thing I notice about these rifles, as Aika reloads, alongside Vyse. These rifles are heavier, and the mags take a lot more work to replace. However the Empire beat us back with these pieces of junk, I'll never know…maybe it's strength in numbers…or tactics…I don't know, Daemon might be that bad I suppose….can't say I've has the pleasure of finding out.

As Aika and Vyse stop firing, I lean around the corner, aiming quickly to find my targets. I aimed at one on the right, as they began firing once more. I fired a quick 3 shot burst, the first two missing as the third struck home, blood spurting from his eye. He fell quickly, his allies ignoring him falling. I aimed again, firing two shots wildly at the others. I heard another groan as I apparently hit another, then quickly taking cover.

We don't have the ammo to do this… I looked to the river, hoping the squad wasn't too far away. I refocused, grabbing a grenade and unpinning it, throwing it over the wall quickly towards the enemy. I heard the explosion, seeing the blast out of my eye corner before pulling the mag out and replacing it once more. I took my time, making sure it stuck.

"Craig, get that wound treated" Aika told me under the volley of fire. With what? We left the Ragnaid back with our kits. Vyse groaned twice, falling down and holding his shoulder. "Vyse"

"Relax, this is nothing" he spoke, doing the hero routine. I quickly pulled the knife out, holding it over my wound. This is going to sting. I looked away, plunging the blade in carefully, grunting as the steel sliced through flesh. It dug under the bullet, allowing me to flick it out like it was nothing. I watched the red casing fly, holding the knife out.

"Vyse! Use this!" I shouted. He nodded, grabbing the blade.

"Thanks" he replied, digging his bullets out. I breathed as another volley drummed against the wall, Aika looking at me and Vyse passing me my knife back. With the volley ending, we both darted out.

Ok, I'll be honest; I didn't take time to aim, as it turned out the group has two riflemen with ammo left who pointed their guns at me. I quickly moved my sights to them, firing as best as I could from the hip. And actually, being a shocktrooper, helped me aim and fire.

Only problem was about 4 shots (from me) went right over their heads with one somehow hitting the guy's leg. Aika had a better time, actually killing the other one. I felt about 3 shots hit me, two in the chest and one in the left shoulder. I let out a gasp of pain, suppressing the scream within my throat whilst retaking cover.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I loaded a new mag, Hearing Aika gasping.

"I'm out" she told me. Vyse retook cover.

"I'm not doing too well myself" he told us. I grabbed the last mag, passing it to Aika.

"Last mag, make it count" I told her, pulling the bolt back on my rifle as she took the mag from me. I leaned against the wall, looking over the river.

We aren't going to make it…one mag left each and no sign of Squad 7…along with the odds that they have reinforcements coming. I breathed deeply, the sounds of the combat around me seeming to die down.

I'm not going down without a fight.

I darted out from cover, firing off two shots quickly, hitting one twice in the chest. He kept on firing, so I aimed quickly, shooting him straight in the skull. I moved my Iron sight, continuing the fire as I hit another twice on his arm. Aika fired as well, doing about the same damage as me. As another volley flew our way I threw the gun down, pulling out my knife and grabbing a grenade.

If these bastards want me, they can come and get me. Aika and Vyse followed suit, each one drawing their weapons.

Well…this seems to have been FUBAR.

I looked at the pair, seeing them both looking down heartened…I felt the same way as we didn't speak….only letting the bangs of the enemies guns fill the air. I pulled the pin on the grenade; throwing it with all my might towards the enemy…it landed nowhere near them, as a blue explosion filled the gap.

"Any regrets?" I asked the pair, flipping my knife in my hand.

"None" they both said at the same time.

We knew we were dying here…

And then…I don't know what you'd call it.

I'd guess at Miracle.

Suddenly, a surge of water shot out of the river, followed by a tank flying out of it. Myself, Aika and Vyse watched it with hope and relief…the Edelweiss was here…its gun started blaring at the group who were shooting at us, cutting them down where they stood. I breathed a sigh of relief as it stopped, Boats now coming onto the shore.

"You're late!" I shouted, smiling as everyone ran onto the shore behind the 'weiss, Fina, Alicia and James running over to us.

"You three ok?" Fina asked, pulling out some Ragnaid capsules and using them on us.

"I'll live" I told her, smiling. Vyse seemed to be overjoyed, based on the fact that, right now, he just jumped up and shouted 'WOOHOO!' Aika smiled whilst face palming.

"Seems you did your job" James told me, not looking angry surprisingly.

"We set the ground work" Aika told him, Alicia placing down three small bags along with our weapons and…well…I say belts but what we use to hold our ammo and such on.

"That was a bit of a crisis" Vyse commented as all three of us stood up, grabbing a bag.

"You know what they say: a crisis is a turning point" I smiled as I said that.

"Less Chatter! GO AND GET CHANGED SO WE DON'T LOSE YOU TO THE COLD!" Welkin shouted. We all smiled, nodding and saluting whilst running off, going into the nearest house and taking a different room.

_To get that close to dying was a feat I'd rather not repeat_

_But you know, I think I'd do that again if needed._

_After all, we just got the guys onto the shore._

_Now for the REAL battle for Vasel to begin._

* * *

Well it wasn't going to be a few second job for the Edelweiss and co to reach the shore now was it?

And yes, I do realise that proper military conduct is to keep the uniform on even if you're going to die of the cold due to swimming in it. But still, this is the Gallia Militia. I'm sure one change of clothes won't kill us….will it?


	24. operation cloudburst part 4

well, that was embarrasing. I thought I had uploaded this chapter and...well, apparently I hadn't. big thanks to All American Autor for pointing it out.

This chapter took a bit of thinking. My view on James changed a lot so I kept rewriting it. Now I've got one set idea and sticking with it. Should be fun.

Chapter 23

Operation cloudburst part 4

Assault.

_With squad 7 over the river and our camp set_

_All we had to do now was to pierce the enemy lines and make Welkin's plan work._

_This was where the 'fun' would begin._

"You have to be kidding me" I moaned, stepping out of the house we had gone into to change quickly. I looked over my….I suppose new attire, but I can't really call it that. Heck, the best I can call it is my own clothes. All it is, almost literally, is my own clothes, with a Gallian Unicorn on the shoulder, along with sections to hold my mags, clips and such, a holster for a Valkyrur pistol and….well, something to hold my Mags on my back. Not that I'll need it too often as chances are the Mags will be in my hands. Vyse and Aika stepped out; with near enough the same changes to their clothes

By the way, however many times I said Mags in that sentence, I don't know, but mags is easier to say then magazines to me. Especially when in life threatening peril.

"Can't complain about Gallian Fashion" Aika commented, pulling the bolt back on her Gallian. Vyse remained quiet.

"I'd rather be in Gallian Militia Uniform wearing Kevlar then in this which, A: sticks out like a sore thumb and B: may as well be paper when put in front of a bullet" I replied.

"Oh, they have got Kevlar in these" Vyse told me, patting his shoulder. "They've sown it in" I raised an eyebrow, checking quickly. Ah, they have….it is subtle but it's there.

"If you three are done exchanging fashion tips-" we heard Rosie speak over the Radio. We put a finger on our earpieces to make sure we heard her. "-Get your backsides down to our position, we've got trouble with some imps and the main force is making some headway on an alternate route" I sighed, looking at the other two.

"We're on our way" I told her.

"Follow the trail of destruction the Edelweiss left behind, you'll find us near Lodestone way. You know where it is right?"

"We went by it earlier. It's got a pub right?" I heard her laugh on her end, I couldn't help but smile. "Trust me to remember the place that sells alcohol"

"Get here soon kiddo….I don't like the-"

"Found one!" I heard someone shout on her end. This was followed by gunfire, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"Rosie!" I shouted. She groaned, followed by more gunfire.

"They're in the tavern! You three are in the perfect place to flank them. NOW MOVE!" the radio cut off, Vyse pulling the bolt on his gun as this occurred.

"You ready to rock?" he told me, running off with Aika behind him. I nodded, following along. Not like I had much of a choice.

The streets of silence and rare movement had changed in the past few minutes. Now the streets were alive with the sounds of gunfire and explosions. We knew the plan, move fast and hit the bridge. Vyse led us carefully through the city streets, aiming his gun all over the place, searching for contacts. I more focused on the path ahead, not even holding the gun against my hip.

In a reasonably short space of time, with much radio chatter going on as we move, we found the pub again, seeing Rosie and….a vast majority of the squad pinned down in front of it. We were at the back, with a door conveniently presented to us. I looked between Vyse and Aika, running over to the door.

"Rosie, how many?" I asked, checking my Mags one more time.

"20 at last count. We can pin 'em down from here" she replied.

"And where's the Edelweiss?"

"Heading down the main road, Alicia, Nadine and James are with it" oh boy, should be fun. "Listen, our lancers could get some shots off on the windows, maybe force them back. Think you can make use of a little noise?" I looked between Aika and Vyse, smiling.

"Save the rounds, keep checking the roads for tanks and such. If we're caught short and they appear we'll stand less chance then cake in front of gourmets" did I really just say that? Vyse and Aika gave me looks of concern as I put a hand on the door. "Have the snipers ready to fire on the windows, we'll attack them from behind as best we can"

"Be careful kiddo….the enemy are mostly on the top floor….and you'll be dodging our bullets too" should be fun then. I looked at Vyse and Aika, both ready to blitz our way in and take them down.

"Keep an ear out for what we say, if we clear a room, we'll tell you and you'll have to shift your fire!" the pair of them got either side of the door, aiming inwards.

"Alright, just give us the word"

I lowered my hand, holding my gun tightly, bracing it against my shoulder. Vyse and Aika did the same. I breathed deeply, getting into the zone. CQB tactics…what were they again….oh yeah, move fast on entry, shoot the bastards before they get an eye and clear each room fully...I think...

"Ready?" they both nodded. "Right. Rosie! Moving in!"

I kicked the door in as I said this, quickly scanning the room as I dived behind a table. 5 contacts, 2 firing outside with 3 looking at the door. I pushed the table over as Vyse joined me, Aika staying outside with the pair of us being overshadowed by the size of the table. The three fired their rifles at Vyse and me, bullets flying overhead with the wall behind us slowly being filled with holes. The table itself was holding up ok, with the loud thumps as bullets impacted it leaving no mark on our side.

Aika shot out of cover as the group outside restarted, throwing a grenade into their midst. The trio saw it, running up to it and kicking it outside. I heard a very loud shout outside as the explosion rang out, looking at the door.

She shook her head, standing up and still holding her gun. I saw, in/on her arm a long cut where the blast had gotten her. Vyse shot up, firing a quick burst, failing to make any mark as the enemy continued firing. I placed my gun so the barrel was on the table with the mag and trigger my side, aiming it from my crouched position, looking straight down the irons. I lined up my shot as Vyse retook cover, reloading his gun as I aimed at the chest of one foe.

"EAT LEAD!" I shouted, squeezing the trigger and blasting him full of 10 bullets of lead. I let the trigger go after that, letting him fall face first to the ground. Adrenaline really kicked in as the enemy restarted, Bullets from both sides flying into the room. I moved my aim, firing another burst at a second foe, all my bullets missing as I felt bullets hit both my hand and the gun. I dived down again, shaking my hand as if shaking away the pain. I pulled out the mag, inserting a new one and pulling the bolt back. I heard a ping as I did so, seeing two bullets flying out.

That's not a good sign. I pulled the trigger, getting no reaction. I held the bolt back, looking into the chamber...shards of lead could be seen, along with a bent hammer (or whatever they use in bigger guns) and the acrid smell of gun powder was stronger than normal.

"Has your gun broken again?" Vyse asked, looking at it. I nodded, throwing it down and pulling out my pistol.

"When all else fails" I spoke, quickly aiming it with both hands and firing a quick shot. The bullet flew true with the poor git's head snapping back, a small splatter of blood flying out his eye. Vyse threw another grenade out, which the soldiers could do nothing about as I kept firing at them, keeping them busy as they watched the fuse burn.

"GET DOWN!"

We both dived under the table, the Grenade blowing up a Ragnite Blue, with 4 screams resounding above it. The table we were behind cracked as the blast went off, throwing smoke all around the room. I coughed a bit as Vyse looked over the table, waving in front of his face to keep the smoke away. Once the smoke had cleared, I held my gun up as I stood up, seeing one groaning soldier moving for his gun as the others lay dead. I quickly pointed my gun at him, firing 2 quick shots, both hitting him in his chest. I breathed for a bit after this, the bullets still flying in.

"First room clear!" I shouted. I grabbed my Mags and put it on my back.

"Changing fire!" Rosie shouted back. I felt a bullet wiz through my hair, looking outside and seeing the group moving about. I got an eye down the road, seeing a Light tank moving in.

"Enemy armour incoming!" I shouted.

"Seen it!" Largo shouted back. "Audrey, Alesse, Hector!" I heard four loud bangs, then another four loud….well; I don't know how to describe it, almost like steel being torn apart with a knife or something, and then one very loud explosion. "Taken down"

"Top left clear" I heard Catherine speak. The trio of us inside prepared for the next room as some radio chatter caught my attention.

"-mes, get- *static* -der" it sounded like….Welkin.

"Sor- *static* I've seen a *static* -int that may be- *static* -to pass up" that sounded like James.

"Can't you- *static once more* -we all need to- *static* -unit" that was definitely Alicia. I waited at the door, Vyse and Aika readying up.

"Anyone else hear that?" I asked, looking around. I heard Rosie sigh over the gunfire.

"Sounds like someone's breaking orders" Ramona spoke. Joy, another issue with James I bet.

"We better clear here out quick then" Vyse and Aika reloaded their weapons, both ofd them pulling the bolts back at relatively the same time. "Let's move"

Yet again, I kicked the door down into, what I can only assume was, the main room, where people would get served. We entered behind the counter, seeing about 5 imps at the windows, three shooting out, two looking our way, guns ready. I dived behind the bar as gun fire started to hail our location, coming from outside and within.

"Whoever's firing at the bar room, adjust fire to the left" I told them. I heard someone acknowledge this, the blizzard of bullets moving away from where we were. Aika and Vyse crouched and walked in behind me, pulling grenades and throwing them over. The blue explosion lighting up the room as I shot up along with Vyse, our guns firing as we showered the room in iron. The imps fired back, almost hitting both me and him.

One thing I notice as I'm firing. One of the imps is firing what appears to be a pump action shotgun. I smiled at this, knowing that that would be perfect to steal. I adjusted my aim, bullets digging into his skull. Shell fragments flew back, hitting both me and Vyse as we retook cover. I checked my arm, seeing numerous wounds in it, all of them bleeding. I looked at Vyse, seeing him in worse shape than me.

"Here" I told him, grabbing my ragnaid and passing it to him. "You need it more than me" he smiled, grabbing it and activating it, healing the wounds on his arm. I pressed the release on my gun, pulling out the clip and inserting a new one, pulling back the slide. The clip I threw took 3 shots before they realised what they were shooting, by which time I had shot back up, shooting at the other three. Bullets filled the trio of them, not from me, as I missed entirely. Heck, my bullets hit the alcohol bottles, along with the jukebox (which, I have to say, made me laugh when it started playing). The Imps had gotten riddled with lead from outside. I couldn't help but smile as I released my clip, allowing me to shove a new one in.

"Room clear!" I shouted, hearing a few more shots ring out.

"Enemy silenced" Marina spoke. Ok, I have to be honest; I'm surprised that only the shotgun hit us. Vyse was fiddling with his gun as Aika walked in.

"My guns going to need some maintenance after this" he commented, pulling the bolt back and slapping the gun. "There we go" I walked over to the shotgunner, grabbing the shotgun off him.

"Aika, Catch" I told her, throwing her a spare Ragnaid. She caught it, smiling and nodding at me. I turned to the shotgun, examining the weapon in earnest. "Let's see...strong construction...ejection port separate to the insertion point..." or whatever it's called. It does feel...heavy. It has to be said. You know how the twin barrel shotguns look...well, imagine one of them with one barrel with a pump action...thingy. Along with a somewhat large section just above the section you put the shells in where I guess they store the shells. I pumped the shotgun until it was empty, 4 shells falling on to the ground.

I looked at the dead Imp, seeing a bandolier on his chest filled with shells. I undid it quickly, strapping around my chest. I began reloading the gun, trying my best to remember how it went in the games. Eventually, one shell wouldn't go in. "…six shot mag…and separate release slide…yeah…should be good" You know, change what I said earlier, this looks oddly like a trench gun, it has to be said.

"Craig, this doesn't solve anything" Aika commented, Vyse looking down heartened.

"I know but we now have a shotgun" I smiled, standing up with my new gun. Rosie ran in, panting as she did so.

"Craig….we've….got trouble" She spoke. We all looked at her, watching her in anticipation of her continuing. "It's your brother"

"What's he done now?" I asked. She looked panic-stricken and EXTREMLY worried.

"He's….pinned….and nearly…out of ammo" what? I walked up to her, looking her in the eye.

"Where is he?" she looked at me, still panting. "WHERE!"

"Craig, shouting isn't-" Aika started. Rosie raised a hand as she spoke, interrupting the girl.

"He's….up north….near the church" she stopped panting, taking another deep breath. "I understand how you feel"

I looked around the room as I thought about what to do. Welkin needs me for the mission, whilst I had to save my brother. I looked at Aika, Vyse and, after adjusting my view, Rosie. I nodded, getting my plan in my head.

"What are you-" he started, as I removed my grenades and mags. "You're not thinking-"

"Neither is James" I told him, rushing around the bar, grabbing a few bottles and a lighter, along with a few napkins, hoping that I could somehow improvise Molotov cocktails. "I know he's got himself in trouble again, and I know it's his fault" I attached the bottles to my belt, looking at Vyse. "But he is my brother. And I have to bail him out of his mess again" Rosie gave a small exhale of understanding.

"I understand what you mean kiddo" she told me.

"If you did, then you'd be moving about now" I told her, giving my shotgun a quick pump to get the first shell in. "Right, I'll catch you when James is safe" Rosie moved out the way of the door as I charged out, heading northwards.

For what it's worth, maybe I should leave James in peril, but we are a unit, and a unit doesn't abandon its allies. Whilst leaving the guys behind I put my hand on my earpiece.

"Welkin, come in!" I shouted, now feeling a dull pain in my wounded arm.

"Craig, James is-" he started, his voice crackling on the radio.

"I heard" Welkin stopped at that, presumably knowing what I was going to say. "Listen, Welkin. I'm going to reinforce him. I can leave the bridge assault to you and the squad, right?"

"Well….yeah, but it'd be nice if you actually took some support with you. In case of tanks and snipers and-"

"No time, besides, you've got the main Imp force to think of" I heard him sigh on his end, still running along the streets.

"If you don't come back-"

"I will come back….the only question is what state will that buffoon of a brother of mine be in" when I get my hands on him…

"Craig, I hope you know what you're doing" Alicia told me.

"I'm doing this for my brother Alicia" I told her. "Because I have to be the hero"

I turned it off after that, removing it from my ear and placing it in a pocket. Time to be the hero I suppose. Someone has to be for that idiot.

_James always has to be the idiot._

_The one who does his own thing._

_And then I have to bail him out._

_Why couldn't he just learn the meaning of the word 'squad'?_


	25. operation cloudburst part 5

You know, I really need to start finishing these….or at least not stopping. Heck, I finished one but then deleted it so hey, I can do it. But enough beating around the bush. If you're still reading this after the long break, my thanks for the patience waiting for the next chapter. If you're new to this story, welcome and please leave me feedback.

So then, with that done, let's try and work out some rust, eh?

* * *

Chapter 24

Operation Cloudburst part 5

Rescue

_He always found a way to get into trouble_

_Back then I just hoped he wouldn't keep it up._

_But…we were inexperienced._

Remind me why I'm doing this again. Leaving behind the main battle to go and save my brother, armed with only a shotgun, a pistol and a few….I'll just say improvised grenades. Knowing my luck so far, I'm going to be facing….at the very least riflemen. And now as I walk the dead silent streets, save for the sounds of combat in the distance, all that can be heard is my footsteps, all four of them….wait, what?

Tightening my grip on the shotgun, I spin around, lowering to one knee, my eyes darting from spot to spot, trying to find the source of the other footsteps. The steel pressed to my side digging in quite painfully.

The second pair of footsteps is unheard; the streets, laden with the shell of a car along with shelled buildings, are a dismal sight, but yield no surprises. I breathe a sigh of relief, relaxing slightly, and standing back up. This is bad when I've only been serving, what….a few weeks at most. I'm going to be a wreck by the time this is over.

*Click* oh shit.

"You need to check your back more often" oh thank god. I turn around, seeing Catherine, holding her pistol.

"Please don't do that to me" I told her, shaking my head. "But then again, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Welkin and company assaulting the bridge"

"Welkin sent me to help you out, said you would require some sort of aid in your little brotherly issue" ah Welkin, how kind. She pulled back on the slide of her gun, spinning it in her hand before holstering it, then grabbing her GSR off her back.

"I owe you one Catherine" I scratched the back of my head as I said this. "Come on, James can't hold forever"

Catherine nodded, moving the bolt on her rifle to make sure it was set. What's with her and constantly needing to make sure she's loaded? Anyway, digressing aside, we kept on running through the streets, getting closer to James' location, I strapped on my earpiece once again, hearing the radio chatter from the bridge in full swing. Damn it how am I going to-

"Can anyone hear me?" wow, that was lucky.

"James! Come in!" I shouted back.

"Craig? You anywhere near the Church of St Lauress?" Church of wha?

"James, this is Catherine, we're about 3 streets away. How many are we looking at?" Ah Catherine, good to fill in the blanks in directions.

"I…" we heard a few gunshots followed by a thud. I heard a few footsteps on the line, quieter then James' should have been…

"James?" No response, just more footsteps. "James!" I heard a door close, followed by another thud.

"Remind me not to do that again" he replied. I mentally breathed a sigh of relief as he spoke. "Took a shot to the side but I think I made it" he breathed heavily a few times, another thud. "There's…8 or so….Rifles and….and Submachine guns" he coughed, another thud on the mic. "Listen, I managed to get a rifle from one of them. Got about 3 mags along with it…poor guy never saw the melon that hit his melon" I heard a click as I presume he pulled the bolt. "I'll do some fighting when you move in…but if you fail…well…"

"Don't talk like that James" I told him, shaking my head. "We're the heroes, we'll save your ass" he huffed on his side, this time definitely charging his rifle.

"You better Craig…" he remarked.

"Just be ready for some fireworks"

He 'hmmed' on his end, gunfire rising on his end once more as the mic cut out. I took the mic out, hearing the gunfire in the air. "Let's move" I told Catherine, lifting the shotgun into my hand again. She nodded, running ahead of me to the…church.

Running through these war-torn streets was…odd. You know what I said earlier about it being dismal…it still was but it seemed so…distant. Maybe having the objective of saving James in my mind made it seem further away from my mind but….I don't know.

We eventually came to the chur- this is a church? If this is a church, my god, what do the Cathedrals like? this was flipping fancy. We could hear gunfire inside and see a shadow against the stained glass (another Valkyrur…no surprise) he was spinning around, firing his presumably rifle around the place. You know, I'm going to feel sad burning this place to the ground. But the Pyromaniac in me demands I do so. I ran over to the door, kneeling down and placing the shotgun down. Catherine switched to her pistol, slinging her rifle over her back.

"This is going to be fun" I told her, pulling the cocktails off my belt and stuffing the rag into them. "And now, for a bit of flame" I pulled the lighter off, flicking it open and looking at it, dragging my thumb down, hear the click with no flame. "Stupid piece" I did it once more. "Of junk" Third times the charm, lighting the flame. "Finally" I lit the rags, flicking the cover over the lighter and putting it into my pocket again. I held one of the Molotov's out for Catherine. "Soon as we enter, throw it. More of the blighters we get, the better off the three of us are going to be" Catherine gave me a look of disgust as she grabbed hers.

"We're going to burn down a church?" she asked. I shrugged, grabbing my shotgun again.

"A building can be rebuilt, a life can't be replaced" she sighed, shaking her head at my logic.

"Fine, fine" She walked away from me, going to the other end of the door. I stood facing it, ready to go. I looked at Catherine, getting a nod.

Right. Let's go.

I booted the door with all my might….getting a pain in my leg in response. I hopped around for a bit as I realised what this door was made from: solid oak. Frick. Plan B. I aimed my shotgun at the hinges, firing a blast and pumping as it disappeared in a cloud of buckshot. I did the same to the other, pumping one more time as I booted the door once more.

This time got a reaction, the door failing to the floor loudly, echoing around the insides. This one was larger then it's counterpart over the river, with loads of pews, an altar at the far end of…may as well be a small street. At the opposite end were two staircases attached to the walls, going off opposite ways and looping around the wall to the stained glass window and a door, leading, presumably to a bell tower.

And that's when I saw them…well, more felt them. The 8 soldiers James had told me about, each one charging down the stairs towards us, the front two stopping in the middle to shoot at us. I dived for cover behind one of the wooden seats as a flaming bottle flew from behind me, landing just short of the imperials. The ball of fire still erupted however, setting some of the seats on fire.

By now, the Imperials had taken their positions behind the chairs. I shot up, looking around quickly for where they were. 4 left, 4 right. Great, a 50 50 split. I looked at the closer lot, throwing the cocktail with all my might towards them, landing close enough to actually hit one of them. He screams as he erupted in flames, swinging his arms around wildly in order to try and extinguish the flames. His mate stopped firing in order to help him, patting the flames. I reached for my pistol, swinging it out quickly and lining up the irons.

Before I could capitalise on the pair's distraction, a hail of bullets flew my way. Before the risk grew too great, I dived, mentally citing myself for failing to get a good shot in. reholstering the pistol and grabbing my shotgun with both hands, I breathed a few times, hearing gunfire flying from Catherine.

"James we're going to need a hand here!" I shouted, jumping over the pew and taking cover in the next row as the next wave of gunfire hit. I didn't get a response. I looked over the pew, seeing 4 Imps, 2 from each team, moving forward as their comrades fired or reloaded. "Catherine, screw the Pistol, get some shots in with the rifle!" I heard a very loud bang and a scream as an imp took a bullet. I looked over to Catherine, seeing her pulling the bolt on her rifle.

"Sorry, what was that?" she asked. I smiled, shaking my head. Well, that saved time. And now it's 7. I heard footsteps near me, grabbing my shotgun and flying up, seeing the imp to my right.

And then….I don't know how exactly to describe it. I just seemed to…know... EXACTLY where to shoot and when. The easy bit to explain is the fact that the world slowed down and even though I felt bullets hit me (4 of them in fact, so add them to the list of wounds from this battle), I didn't feel the pain. I lined up the shot, pulling the trigger. Time sped back to normal and the blighter was riddled with enough buckshot to bring down a horse. I ducked back down, pumping the shotgun. 6 left. I looked around the side of the pew, seeing small fire building in their end of the church…yeah. Probably should have thought the fire bombs through a tad bit more.

I looked around, seeing the remaining 5 (did the other die of the fire from earlier?) group together on the right. I dived to the right, a hail of bullets following me, hitting my leg a bit more. And this was when the adrenaline finally wore out, the pain from the bullets finally digging in with a groan of pain from me. I breathed a few times, shaking my head to ignore the pain. I hear another gunshot, hearing Catherine groan in the background. I turn to her, seeing a wound on her shoulder.

"Catherine! You ok?" I shout. She nods, aiming and firing another shot quickly, retaking cover. I'm not sure how she pulls it off but she pulls the bolt back and manages to get another bullet before letting go of the bolt, the bullet landing in the insertion point and the sniper rebolting the rifle. Skills from the 1st Europan war perhaps.

She repeats what she did before, this time getting a clear shot at one of the blighter's chest. I lunge up, firing two quick bursts and finishing him off. 4 left. I breathed a few more times, not seeing any smoke or indeed the heat of a fire, as one was walking along the pews, checking them each in turn. Why? I'll never know. He just saw me firing and he knows where Catherine is. Either way, one dumb Imp is an improvement for me. I shot up, running towards him.

"Hey, Imp!" I shouted. He turned towards me, swinging his gun around. I went into a slide, hitting his legs and tripping him up, watching as a bullet went right before my left eye. He hit the ground face first, his gun discharging once more. I swung my shotgun around, firing a point blank burst into his chest, pumping and firing once more, making sure the bastard was dead. I pumped once more, looking down at the guy, my back to a seat. Poor guy now has quite a large hole in his chest. I breath a few times, suppressing some vomit as the sounds of gunfire and bullets impacting the wood. Right. 3 left. I shot up when the gunfire ended, pulling the trigger once more AND nothing.

"Shit" I remarked, pulling the trigger a few times to make sure. The gunfire restarted, resulting in me getting hit a few times by bullets in the shoulder. And fuck did they sting. I dived down once more, grabbing my shoulder. Come on, it's just a few bullets you prat. Get back in there. I pumped the shotgun again, seeing the subtle lack of shells.

"Catherine, I need to reload!" I shouted, flipping the gun in my arms. "Cover me"

"I'm reloading as well!" she shouted back. I looked at her, seeing her pulling the bolt back, shoving in a new clip and struggling to replace the bolt (didn't she put a stray bullet in earlier?). I could see the strain on her face as she fought to reload. She looked in. "Reload quick, their on the way!"

I started the painstaking process of reloading, grabbing the first 3 shells off my bandolier and starting to shove them in. I grabbed the next 3, shoving the next two in and getting the third stuck. I let it go, trying to pump the shotgun and failing to get it moving.

"Shit" I said to myself. smacking the side of the gun, trying to get the new shell in. I heard footsteps and laughter to my right, turning and seeing the Imp ready to shoot me. "Shit"

"This isn't your Day" he told me. I forgot all about my pistol, crawling back away from him, still fighting with the shell.

Suddenly, he crumbled under a lump landing on him. I crawled backwards a bit, finally getting the new shell in as the lump moved.

"This isn't your day" He spoke. I heard a shot being fired with the lump moving to my side. "Miss me?"

"No, I didn't" I told him, sighing. "Thanks James"

"Thanks for coming to save me" he told me, unloading his pistol. "Got any spare mags?"

"Yeah. But shortcut" I grabbed my pistol, holding it out for him. He took it from me, and I grabbed my spare mags. He shoved one in his own pistol, pulling the slide back and flipping them round. "Ready?"

"Oh yeah!"

He jumped up as the hail of gunfire ended, aiming his pistols quickly, emptying the entire clip of both at the imperials. I heard two very loud shouts as he finished shooting, lowering his pistols. "all clear" he spoke. I stood up carefully, looking over and seeing the imps dead. He turned to me, looking serious. "Had to dump my rifle, but we got the job done" I shook my head, turning to him and throwing my fist at his face, knocking him to the ground.

"You IDIOT!" I shouted, walking over to the doors. "When we get to camp, I'm going to have a word with you about this" I heard him getting up slowly.

"How far along are we?" he asked. I stopped at the doors, not looking at him.

"Last I knew it was the assault on the bridge. If we're quick we should be able to get in for the final few minutes" I heard him pick up a rifle, so I turned and saw it behind the altar...slightly singed. I guess the fire was put out during the fire-fight...no pun intended. He holstered his pistol, holding mine and throwing mine to me. I took a hand off to catch it, looking at the mag...or therefore lack of. "Where's the ammo?"

"You've got the shotgun, you don't need pistol ammo" he told me. I shook my head, kneeling down and placing my shotgun on the ground to grab the spare clip and shove it in, holstering it again. I never want to say holster again.

"James, sometimes I wonder..." I commented, grabbing my shotgun and standing up. "...never mind...let's go and finish up here" James nodded, catching a stripper clip Catherine threw him and reloading, catching another two and attaching them to his gun.

_Fighting in a church of the Valkyrur... to stain such a sacred, to these people at least, with blood and death..._

_I'm not religious myself...but I respect the faith people can have._

_But...what happened there...I...don't know..._

_maybe they were watching over me...maybe...I don't know._

* * *

You know, it's kind of odd to leave this for so long and come straight back into a combat chapter. Once I got going it was easy but, getting going: bleh. Took me like 5 attempts to get it going. Kept changing between a shop, a church and a bar.

Anyway, I'm back, and I'm ready to go. Consider this a late Christmas gift from your old British friend (and if you don't like Brits...I actually can't think of anything witty about that but still...*sad face* )


	26. operation cloudburst finale

I'm going 2 for 2

* * *

Chapter 25

Operation Cloudburst Finale

_We had a schedule to keep to_

_and as far as I knew, we had started to fall behind._

_After rescuing James, we had to make up for lost time._

_And I needed to get this done with._

You'd be surprised how fast you can run when you know that everything relies on you and your squad. Getting yet again across town in about 4 minutes, Catherine, James and myself arrived behind the...I say frontline but the encirclement. James threw us a few Ragnaids of his, letting us heal up on the move. To be fair, I had taken a lot of punishment in a short period of time. And my god was I doing well considering I had taken so many shots before getting that Ragnaid...British grit? Nah, must just be easier then I thought. Ok, it's not, but still, it's that or British Grit, and that makes it sound like every other nationality is not as good at taking pain.

The sounds of gunfire grew louder as we neared the bridge, with Radio chatter increasing with every step. I saw a Gallian flag flying near some tents, with the Edelweiss being worked on by Isara, Welkin and Knute working on the tank. (why do I imagine 'Time is money' being spoken here) we got into a small square of sandbags, Welkin quickly aiming a pistol at me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's us" I told him, holding my hands up. He lowered his gun, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Good to see you back Craig. Catherine, thank you for helping him and..." he looked at James, falling silent for a bit. "We'll talk later James" James sighed, walking over to a pile of ammo and starting to reload.

"What did we miss, boss?" Catherine asked, adjusting her arms as she got comfy.

"The Edelweiss took a few lances as we charged"

"Hence why it's here I presume" I comment, looking at Knute. "How's it going mate?"

"Time is money" he replied. Called it.

"We need to get an engineer into the bridge house to give them a bath" he re-holstered his pistol, grabbing a wrench again and working on the tank once more. "We've got Fina moving up the right, Knute is fixing up some things on the tank, but we can go in about 5" I slung the shotgun over my shoulder, intending on getting a Mags from the weapons we brought with us from landing. "can you join us down the centre for the main assault, Fina's got 5 we've got the rest. The plan is we distract them for her group to reach the bridge house"

"Well then, what if we make a bit of noise here" I looked at him as he walked over to us, holding a Mags and a Gallian, strapped to the hilt with Mags for the Gallian. He threw me the Mags and a few mags along side it, both of us reloading at the same time. "Heck, if we can break them, what if I try to do it. Heck, I've got some engineering skills so I must be able to do something" I looked at Welkin, raising as eyebrow.

"He's got some skill I'll give 'im that" did I just miss the h?

"All right...I...guess we can make do if we do somehow break through" Welkin replied, turning to James. "Except this time, follow orders!"

"Will do boss. Just excuse me for taking a spare Gallian" he nodded to me. "We'll be done before you know it" Welkin nodded, not really knowing how to answer as he scratched the back of his head. He turned to me, his face telling me that he didn't know how to proceed. I nodded, sure of what we would be able to do.

"Give us 5 minutes and the Edelweiss will be moving" He spoke, nodding. I charged my rifle, looking to James.

"Let's move, stay alert and follow orders" I told James. He nodded, the pair of us running down a back street to get around the defences, intending to flank them.

Once again, running down the streets was kind of weird. We knew the battle was going on around us but still. I looked at James as we ran, seeing him keep an eye ahead of us. I turned back, seeing loads of sandbags. I turned to James once more, about to speak when suddenly-

"GET DOWN!" he shouted, tackling me down as a blizzard of bullets erupted. I looked at the sky, seeing the bullets fly past my eyes. That was frickin' close. James got up quickly, turning his rifle and firing it from his hip. "4 contacts, minimum!"

I rolled over, crawling to the sandbags and crouching behind them. MAN, that was close. I looked over quickly, finding 6 at least taking cover. Joy, just after getting out of the church, what do we do. Get into another fire-fight where the odds are worse. 2-6...3-8...I miss Catherine already. I saw more coming around to help, James panting next to me.

"What are your orders, 'boss'?" he asked, sarcastically. I place my Mags on the sandbags, aiming it down my eye and firing a quick burst. My eyes shot around, trying to make a plan. The right hand side rooftops are blown open from the artillery fire during the assault on this town. Maybe...the walls linking the houses look broken, not to mention the roof has been blown off.

"Get your ass into-" I looked at the nearest building, a shop called 'Denny's', already looted. "There, get to the rooftops and do what you did in Bruhl" he looked at the building, nodding and smiling.

"Alright" he looked at me, smiling. "I'll get onto it" he waited until the gunfire had died out before diving into the shop.

I looked back down the street, seeing the group...10? Damn. They multiply. They were taking it in turns to load and fire, making it so that they had, practically an endless volley of gunfire. They must have been, what, 10, 20 meters away. I remained low, aiming the gun off the sandbags, firing what was left of the mag at the targets, the endless ratta of the gun almost deafening me. They returned fire as I stuck fast, reloading as the bullets bounced off the sandbags. I moved my sights, aiming straight on at a new target, firing at him as he stood up. He practically started dancing, the bullets knocking him down at the very least. One down, nine to go.

At least, it was 9 to go, until they brought in another guy to reinforce the line. He was HUGE, almost as big as Hector. He wore red armour all over his body, and carried a LANCAAR with him. This is going to help the main line, as it draws another anti-tank soldier away from the Edelweiss. He crouched behind the sandbag, still showing plenty to hit. He placed the...lance (thats the best I can come up with) on his shoulder, aiming it towards me. Oh jeez.

He fired the lance at me, the head flying like an RPG shell. My eyes flew open as I dived for cover, pulling my gun back. There was a loud explosion, a lot of smoke being thrown around and the scene going very quiet. I coughed and spluttered as the smoke got to me. I shook my head as I moved out of the way, my ears filled with a very high pitched ringing.

The hail of bullets had restarted, with loads getting very close to hitting me. Why couldn't I hear them? I stopped coughing, resting my back on the sandbag, breathing a few times. What was this shell shock? God, I knew it was bad in the games but, jeez.

"...aig...raig..." I heard, barely over the top of the ringing as it died down. "CRAIG! YOU ALRIGHT DOWN THERE?" James shouted over the radio. I breathed a few times before answering, shaking my head.

"I...I think so" I told him, flipping around. "Just a bit too close to that, praise the sand bags" he almost laughed. "You in position?"

"Ready to go" I looked up, seeing him aiming. "Just tell me the targets"

"Priority is the Lancer, others are secondary" That almost sounded Militant. "I need what cover I can get"

"All I've got up here is wood and...hey, this looks good" he hell silent for a bit, so I lined the shot back up, letting a burst go at the lancer, hoping to keep his shots from going off. He aimed another shot, my bullets seeming unable to scratch him. I panicked once again, the lancer firing as I dived. I heard the shot fly over my head, the shot hitting the wall above me. I looked above me, seeing the neat hold.

"James, be quick, these walls aren't going to hold under this!" I shouted, reloading.

"So, more cover eh?" I looked up as I charged my gun. "How's..."a few grunts from his end. "...this?"

I saw a large stone statue moving slowly towards the edge in a house halfway along the street. Now, whilst under normal circumstances, it matters what it looks like, right now, it doesn't, because as soon as I see it, James pushes it off, the statue crashing down in the street, leaving good sections of stone out in the street to use as good cover. Heck, the base is an almost perfect cube, big enough to stand behind, and strong enough to take a rocket blast.

"That should do better for you" he remarked, I smiled, firing a quick burst.

"Thanks. I owe you one. Now get taking down those Lancers" Another lancer head flew over my head, barely missing me. "Listen, use the noise from my gun as cover to take 'em out. As long as they don't find you, you can take 'em out easier" OK, there go my 'th's.

"if your up for it, then let's go!"

I swung up again, letting another volley loose at my targets. I kept my bullets flying near the lancer, James doing his job as they all took cover, getting a headshot on the blighter's skull, only using the one bullet. I retook cover to reload, James backing up to remain hidden. I looked over, seeing a lancer running towards the line once more, this time he had already started aiming, blasting at the cover I had just left, sandbags flying everywhere. I coughed a bit more as the smoke shot up again, leaning against the stone.

"They aren't good shots with those things are they?" I asked rhetorically.

"They're like the Russian RPGs, you try aiming one of those things" James replied as I charged my gun.

"Probably couldn't even pick it up, looking at the weight of the bugger"

"What? RPGs aren't that heavy"

"I was on about the LANCAAR not the RPG. Those things are as like as h-" I paused, blinking. "Why are we even having this conversation right now?" silence, save for the gunfire. I took my free hand off my gun, checking how many Mags I had left...damn it. "I'm down to...2, maybe 3 mags. Unless I'm feeling pistol clips" James tutted, and I could almost hear the air as he shook his head.

"You need to carry more mags"

"Or stick with an Engineer or another shocktrooper" I started to move to the corner, a blizzard of bullets flying as soon as my leg was revealed. "This isn't going to go well"

"I'll get to work"

What? As soon as he had finished I heard shots ringing out, followed by a scream. I looked over my head, seeing James firing his Gallian at the enemy. I crouched down, breathing a few times before swinging out, quickly aiming at another soldier and letting the bullets fly. I heard 3 shouts as my bullets struck home, doubtful that I got any kills. I lowered my gun, seeing two kills. Sweet. The third was injured, but moved his rifle to aim at me, firing twice, both the bullets searing my arm as they hit home. I gritted my teeth as I retook cover, reloading quickly and then placing a hand on the wounds. They landed close together, near the shoulder.

"I saw that one" James spoke, snidely. He fired at the one I had started, finishing him off. "No matter how many we kill, they keep replacing them"

"Relax, we're doing our job. We're distracting them" I told him.

"Yeah, but we break this line and we're through" I pulled my knife out, digging it in and digging the bullets out. The amount of the blighted bullet casings below me I've left I could start a nice recycling business.

"This is Squad 7-2 on Marlboro way! We're encountering heavy resistance in the way of the bridge house! Time is running out and we can't break through!" that was Fina. Damn, she's stuck as well.

"Fina, We're doing what we can to draw them off, but there's not a lot more we can do! The Main street is full of Imps!" Welkin must have been under stress as well. "How many are you looking at?" small pause, I shot out, firing another quick burst at the last 2 Imps...well, I say two, a third has appeared. And I say last 2 or 3 as I presume the others have been pulled off to hold off the Edelweiss and Fina.

"James, do you think we could break through with help?" I spoke. James was reloading, I could hear the clicking.

"Yeah...not much help at all, but just enough to break these last few" James replied. I nodded, placing a hand on my earpiece.

"Welkin, this is Craig! We could make it to the bridge house if we have a little bit of aid!" I spoke. James fired off a new volley.

"How much do you think you need Craig?"

"Welkin, this is James, preferably a sniper. Once we break this point, we'll practically be there" Well, that's helpful, thanks for telling them straight out James. I heard Welkin hum on his end.

"Marina, head to Craig's position! We need to get to that bridge house quickly before the Imperials reorganise!"

"Moving" Marina sounded EERILY quietly and calmly. "One minute"

I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing we'd have some sort of help. James fired another volley at the troops down below. The enemy counterfired, James grunting a few times as I presume he took some hits. He cursed several times, backing up and breathing deeply. I shot out aiming quickly and firing at one of the last two. He dived down quickly, his friend aiming at me and firing his mag. A close shave between the me and the stone taking the bullets, the shards of the bullets as they broke off peppering me. Thank god they did change this jacket so that it's not a normal one, otherwise that would have sting. I mean heck the jacket is starting to break, tear and puncture all over.

"This is going to be a frickin' long minute" must be the adrenaline making me miss out letters. I tried to poke my head out ahead, stopping as I saw a grenade land near me. "SHIT!" OK, seeing as I'm pinned in the corner, there's no way I can get away from that. Time for plan B. I ran over to the Grenade, kicking the end like it was a football, watching it spin and fly away, exploding in the air quite close to me. I jumped backwards, avoiding the bullets and shrapnel, somehow.

I am getting so fricking lucky...I've just jinxed it haven't I?

"Need a hand" I heard on the radio, hearing a very loud bang, followed by someone falling to the ground. Thank god Marina got here. I looked at her, seeing her quickly cycling the bolt and aiming quickly, firing in less then a second at the last one. MAN she is good. "Enemy silenced"

"I owe you one Marina" I told her, poking around the stone. "OK, let's move!" I charged towards the other sandbags, James jumping down to follow me with Marina catching us up.

I looked around the last section, seeing the street clear, save for sandbags, an imperial flag and a building near the bridge. The sounds of gunfire ringing out all around. I jumped over the sandbags, James following with Marina close behind. We charged straight for the bridge house, all of us keeping an eye on our surrounds in case of enemies. I heard Fina on the radio, reporting that she was being pushed back. I looked on the bridge, seeing the Imps engaging the Gallian army on the other bank.

"James" I spoke, as we got to the door. I kicked it in, hurting my foot at the same time but ignoring it as I scanned the room, only seeing loads of machinery. "Get to work" James placed his Gallian down, flexing his hands and walking around, pulling some levers and pushing some switches. "do you have any idea what you are doing?"

"Improvising" oh joy...

In the interests of safety, we went outside, leaving James to his machinations, looking around and finding the main street force being forced back. Fina's group now in the fray. I put my hand to my earpiece, lying down behind the sandbags.

"Welkin, Fina, hold fire, I have an idea" I told them. There was a small space between this and half the guns dying down, the Imperials slowing as they realised we had stopped firing. "Hey, Imps!" I shouted, kneeling. They turned to me, seeing me Marina aiming at them. "You are surrounded, Surrender and you can live" the Imps looked around, seeing how much their lines had failed. A majority of them lowered their guns, looking towards one of them. He paused, looking around as if to see an answer.

The others did the wise thing. They dropped their guns, holding their hands in the air and walking away to our troops. The last one kept looking around. I walked over to him, grabbing my knife. "What'll it be?"

He sighed, turning away, placing a hand on his ear. "River Dagger! PULL BACK! ENEMY RAID!" he shouted down the comms. Frick!. I quickly stabbed him, going through his neck. He choked as he fell, blood going down my arm. I heard some radio chatter in the imperial comms. They had to have heard that.

"Welkin, what did you do? The forces engaging us on the bridge have started falling back!" Faldio shouted. Oh god. Isara ran by me, heading for the bridge house and disappearing inside. I turned to the bridge, seeing the large division heading back to us. Damn it. I put my hand to my earpiece.

"James! I HOPE YOU CAN DO THIS!" I shouted.

As the army reached the centre, the bridge started jerking into life. The division on the bridge started looking around as it jerked some more. Suddenly, it started folding up, opening with the troops stuck on it. As it folded, I didn't see what happened, just the screech of steel and the screams of soldiers as they fell into the river. I breathed a sigh of relief, falling onto my backside as I did so.

"Let's never call it that close ever again" I spoke, shaking my head. "Too close"


	27. After the Storm

And back to another break period. Let's see what shenanigans I can come up with this time.

* * *

Chapter 26:

After the Storm

_Welkin had followed through with his side of the bet._

_I have to admit, I had my doubts along with the others._

_Only difference was, I still backed him up._

I think we kinda lost it after our success. A lot of us where shouting in celebration, throwing our arms up in triumph, heck, some of the members of Squad 7 were running to hug other members. (Ted tried with Marina, only to get a fist to the face and her to walk away silently). Largo and Rosie stood to one side, the elder of the pair scratching the back of his head. They spoke between each other, looking quite amazed at what had happened. The celebrations stopped for a bit as Welkin walked over to them. We all paid attention (well, I say all, but with members of the regular army and the rest of the militia moving over, and POWs to keep track of, some of us paid other areas our attention).

"I gotta hand it to ya', I didn't see this coming" Rosie admitted, looking away.

"Yeah, this was...different" Largo admitted. Alicia walked up to them, and I could tell she was smiling.

"Alright you two. You know what this means" she sounded TOO happy when she said that. Rosie looked to one side.

"Pff, just because of that doesn't mean I have to like the dark hairs" She responded, walking away from the group. I looked to the bridge house, seeing Isara looking away from them. Alicia saw her, with James alongside breathing. The baker ran over to her, with me and Welkin nearby.

"Is, she didn't-" she started. Isara shook her head, breathing.

"It's OK. I understand" she responded. I couldn't help but look away, clenching my fist. Why was Rosie like she was? It can't just be due to The Calamity. Regardless, I don't need to pay attention to her.

"Well, in other news, we did it. We somehow took Vasel" I spoke, smiling. "I think it's fair to say we've done Gallia a service" Now who do I charge for Hazard pay?

We had to keep working for a small period...maybe a few hours, if that, keeping an eye on the prisoners and taking defensive positions around the city. Just while the regulars got transportation ready for the prisoners, tying their hands up so that they couldn't really do anything, and taking positions around the city in preparation for the regulars taking over. I somehow got put with Vyse and Aika once more as we oversaw the Imperials being marched into the trucks by the regulars. There was about 2 trucks, with around 20 imperial soldiers ready to get shoved in. The regulars were being kinda forceful with the Imps. Not that I blame them but still, honour in battle and all that. I was leaning against a wall with my Shotgun at my feet and my Mags in my right hand. Vyse was sat down on a bench with his arms behind his head and Aika...

Aika was climbing a lamppost...I'm not kidding. Heck, she was doing very well at it considering it was a long thin steel smooth surface aside from a section at the bottom. She was about...3/4 of the way up, and still going.

"Hard to believe we actually did it" I spoke, looking at the sky. My god it had cleared up quickly. It was turning into a beautiful day too. Vyse chuckled a bit, cracking his neck.

"Life's not fun without some risks" he remarked. He stood up, showing me his confident smile. "Heck, we actually played a huge role in this one"

"Yeah. We kicked the Imperials tails all the way back to Grandbell" She told us. Grandbell's the province where the Imperial capital is. Odd that it's named after a warrior god but then again, the Fire emblem likeness is odd as well so what the hey. "If this keeps up, we'll have won this war by October"

"If this keeps up, I'll have died of any number of war related injuries, both mental and physical, by May" I sighed, shaking my head. "Heck, I wouldn't be surprised I'll be hit by a tank shell or at least the shards of it's armour, before this is all over"

"You do know you can't survive one of them right? The tank shell I mean?" Vyse raised an eyebrow at me as he said this. Aika groaning a few times as she strained for the top of the lamppost.

"That's exactly the point" I turned to the Prisoner operation, seeing one Imperial causing a bit of hassle, getting 3 regulars running over and smashing the back of his knees in with the butts of their Gallian Rifles. It was kinda brutal to watch but I guess they do deserve it. After what I saw at Bruhl at the very least. "You know, there's only one thing that could make me feel kinda bad about all of this"

"Oh, what's that Corporal?" huh?

I turned towards the voice, seeing the appearance of the ninja-like Miss Ellet. How did she even get there? She had her notepad and pencil out once more, taking notes, this time missing the tape recorder. You know, I'm starting to regret starting that train of speech. Quick, someone, save me.

"Hey Miss Ellet. How's things?" Aika asked, jumping down from the light. Thank god for that. The distraction may just have saved me.

"Looking for my next scoop" she replied, smiling. "Irene Ellet: Scoop Hunter" she'll have her own TV show one of these days.

"Well, your looking near one: Squad 7 liberate Vasel in Operation Cloudburst" Vyse told her. Ah, that sounds like something. She shook her head.

"Nah, nah, sounds too generic" she flicked through her notes, nodding. "Lucky Sevens' Liberation of Vasel. Subtitle: Operation Cloudburst huge Success" Lucky Sevens? Oh god, that's going to stick. "Which reminds me" oh god, has she remembered my last line. "Why are you three in...Militia clothing? And I mean Militia Militia not Galian militia" there's another level of Militia?

"Simple answer, we had to go for a swim" I told her. She swung into action, taking notes as quick as she could. "the opening to Operation Cloudburst required a beachhead, and the whole of the bank was held by the Imperials. We had to sneak across by swimming in and do a bit of sneaking" she finished jotting things down, pointing her pencil at us.

"Were there any close calls? Any real danger?"

"Oh yeah, heck, very close" Vyse cut in. he placed his hand on my shoulder. "Near the beach, Twinkletoes here hit a pipe, alerting one of the Imps to us" I scratched the back of my head at this point, Vyse smiling. "Luckily, a cat ran out before the Imp found us, so he figured it was the cat"

"That was one heck of a lucky moment" I admitted. Ellet was eagerly taking notes, smiling as she flipped over the page.

"Got it...and...got it" she smiled as she pointed to us. "One more thing and I'll be done" And the winner is? "Why is the Church burnt?" SCORE!

"That was my fault. It's a long story involving my brother, but basically, whilst trying to save him, I had to use some improvisation, in the form of fire bombs. It wasn't much damage but hey, it worked" Ellet slowed writing as I got to the fire bombs, stopping before I did.

"Do you want me to mention that?" sure, mention that I burnt a holy place built to honour the sacred beings of this world, not to mention killed people inside it. That's bound to go down well with the people of Gallia.

"It might be wiser if you didn't to be honest" she nodded, crossing quite a lot of her notes out.

"Can do...even though it'd raise a lot of eyebrows" she closed her notepad, about to put it away when: "Wait, saving James?" she reopened the notepad (Damn, so close) "What was he doing?" Oh boy. Aika shoved in front of me.

"It's better you ask Welkin about that" She spoke. Thank god I didn't have to answer. I'd have been bitching all day about him. "Besides, he'll have much more of a story to tell" AND THERE'S THE GOAL! Ellet sighed, looking dejected, flipping her notepad closed and putting her things away.

"That makes a lot of sense. Thank you" she replied. I leaned back against the wall, smiling to Ellet. "Well, with that in mind, I thank you for your time" she turned around, turning her head so that she only just saw us. "Good bye and good luck" We watched her go for a bit before retaking our places, with me sighing. We were pretty sure she was gone when: "Smile"

I turned slightly, seeing just enough to get a face full of flash photography. Ages old flash photography. I swear, I was seeing enough stars that I had somehow left the Solar System...then again, I might have done...oh whatever. There's enough stars to fill the night sky 15 times. I rubbed my eyes a few times, trying to work out the blindness. "Bye!"

I heard her run off after that, shaking my head a few times to finally get some prospect of sight back. It eventually left me, my eyes still aching. I wish she hadn't done that. I looked back up, seeing Vyse and Aika...upside down?

"Are you alright Craig?" Vyse asked. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what the heck Ellet had hit me with.

"You don't look too good. You might want to sit down" Aika continued. I raised my other eyebrow, still confused as hell. I looked up, then seeing the answer.

"You guys are quick" I smiled, seeing the legs around the top of the lamp. The pair smiled and laughed a bit, climbing down from the street light. "Oh, Aika" she stopped laughing long enough to listen. "Thanks"

"Hey, what are friends for eh?"

These guys...damn. I'm glad I met them and got in the same squad as them.

_To be able to lighten up so soon after an operation as important as ours was a great thing_

_and these two almost always remained cheerful._

_If Fina's anything like these two then man these guys are amazing._

_And to be honest...I needed it after the amount we'd been through._

* * *

Man, I feel better getting a number of these done, and not just one and then poof: nothing. I know this isn't as long as normal but, I think for once, it's better being this short. (and then, it's 3 pages as aside from 5). I was thinking about having Fina as well but then this just came...naturally, you know. The first people 'I' met in Squad 7 (heck, before we're officially squad 7 even) and we're around the same age, doing the same important thing.

But anyway, I hope this keeps up with the standard. Like I said, it could have had Fina, but this felt better. I'll see what I do next chapter but I'm not 100% yet. Might have it being either training or squad conversations.


	28. to apologise

I got thinking and I might actually have an idea of where to take this fic aside from the basic storyline (and, as bad as that sounds, I did before, but it had a lot of stuff that, in hindsight, would be a bit overdone) but anyway, moving on. And not sure if I've already said this, but those 'potentials' I put down earlier in the story, just ignore them. Some are going to stick in, like sibling rivalry, and older brother, but I think with the others...try and guess them.

Chapter 27:

To Apologise,

_we knew James would get in quite a bit of trouble for his...actions._

_We just didn't know how bad it would be._

_But still, this was the third strike._

Vyse, Aika and myself were...I'll say dismissed to put it nicely, by the Regulars after the prisoners were shipped out. Thankfully it had been quiet, with not a lot really happening, besides the occasional rifle used as a baseball bat. I sighed as I held the shotgun over my shoulder, wondering what the heck we could do to burn some time.

"Craig, you on this thing?" Alicia asked over the radio. I looked at Vyse and Aika, half tempted not to answer. Vyse gave me a stern look.

"Answer it" he told me. I shrugged, sighing as I put a hand on the earpiece.

"Craig here, go ahead Alicia" I replied.

"Craig, we've got a...situation here" she sighed, I could tell she didn't know what to say. "Can you come to the Command tent? You're the only one who can sort this out" oh god, that doesn't sound good at all. I took my hand off my earpiece.

"Can never get a break can I?" I told them, Aika shaking her head. I put my hand back on my earpiece. "On the way Alicia. I'll be about...5, 6 minutes" OK, maybe 2 but I feel like a nice gentle walk after all I've done today. Heck, I've done more running then the rest of the squad, I'm sure of that.

"Don't be too long Craig...I'm hoping this doesn't get much worse"

Well, that was slightly ominous. I shook my head as I bid adieu to my friends, walking at a gentle pace down the roads and backstreets. They had set the command tent up not too far from the road leading to the bridge, so convenience abounds as we can enter and leave quickly. I fiddled with the lighter as I walked along, thoughts running through my mind.

This was James' third strike...second for disobeying orders, with the first being point 5...which is kinda debatable. If this was so bad...was Welkin really laying into him? I wouldn't blame him but still, I've got to back James up. He'd do the same. I moved the shotgun so that I was carrying it by the pump...thing down by my side, by now at the tent. I put the lighter away, brushing the tent door, if it can be called such, away as I stepped in. I'll be honest, when I got in, I didn't hear anything off.

"Craig, you made it" Alicia spoke. I turned to her, seeing her looking concerned as she stepped over to me. "Welkin and James are in the next section, with the Captain" Captain? Varrot is here? "From what I've heard, James is getting the speech of a lifetime"

"Corporal Appleby" I heard Varrot call through. I sighed, nodding.

"Better go face destiny" I told Alicia, putting the shotgun over my shoulder as I walked through the divide.

As I walked in, I looked around the area, seeing a table with a map of Gallia and Vasel on it...no, scratch that, our operational area. That narrows it down to this side of Vasel. I saw a few chairs scattered around, with one of those gas lights in the centre of the table. James was stood to one side, fully to attention. Welkin and Varrot were at another. Varrot nodded to me as I entered, to which I stopped, giving her a salute.

"Corporal Craig Appleby Reporting Captain" I spoke, lowering my hand. "You asked for me" she nodded.

"Yes...at ease" She replied. I lowered my hand, getting the response of her pushing up her glasses. "Corporal, as you know, Corporal James Appleby has broken the orders of a superior officer twice now" OK, the first one isn't worth arguing. "That, and I've heard of his conduct back at the fort" it's kinda hard not to have. "I would ask your opinion on matters concerning him" my opinion? Oh jeez, how do I put this to be best for both of us?

"Permission to speak freely" may as well say what I must. Varrot nodded. Phew, that'll take some weight off. "Captain, Whilst my brother has been an ass both on and off the battlefield, I must say that he is an asset none the less" I looked at James, wondering if it was worth saving his ass this time. "If the Corporal can pull himself into line, he can be a great sniper, a strong ally and caring person. It's the occasions when he isn't that you get events like his 3 outbursts" I turned back to Varrot. "While I can presume that you are discussing removing him from active service, I would protest that, with a request that, at most, he be demoted. Not only will he be affected by a pay decrease, the lack of responsibility along with the added amount of superiors and equals should be able to knock some sense into him" Varrot nodded, again pushing her glasses up.

"Lieutenant Gunther, I would ask your opinion on this matter" Varrot spoke, turning to Welkin. He looked surprised to be put on the spot, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well...like Craig said, James is a good sniper, no one doubts that. And he does have a good head" he put a hand on his chin. "If he put his skills less into his own glory and more into working with the squad...we could be like a Vermillion fly nest"

I think this is the moment when everyone in the room had no clue what the hell he was on about. Somehow he had gone from praising James' skill to comparing him and the squad to...a fly nest... that's not the normal logical progression. Varrot shook her head, looking at me, then back to Welkin.

"Welkin, this isn't being rude boss, but do you think you can put that into words we can all understand?" I asked, scratching the back of my head. I think I just said what Varrot was thinking. Welkin scratched the back of his head, smiling.

"Sorry, didn't mean to confuse anyone. If James pulled back in line, then we could be a really strong squad, ready for...well, anything" that's better Welkin. Varrot nodded, looking between us both.

"Very well, I believe this is for the best" She turned to James. "Corporal Appleby, you are hereby Demoted to the rank of Private" it's for the best I guess. At least he's not fired...in more ways then one. "This is as lenient as I can get...be thankful it's me doing this and not someone else"

"Ma'am" James sighed after he spoke. I could tell he felt solemn, but it's the best we can do...unless we just ignore them. He walked out at this, walking around me. I watched him leave, then turning to the Captain.

"Ma'am, if I may, do you think you could take something to Leon and Kreiss for me?" I asked her. Ok, I'm now asking a commanding officer to run an errand for me. My career's looking great. But amazingly, she nodded, walking over to me and grabbing the shotgun.

"Imperial Storm class" she remarked, looking it over. "Haven't seen one of these since EW1" oh, so it's a relic. Joy, looks like I was really into using a weapon that should be decommissioned. "But...it's odd..." oh, how so? "The barrel seems longer, the pump seems easier and has a stronger effect. Underbarrel rail" OK, I'm going to interrupt that with a thought. You see, I know the rail systems were first used on a modern class of gun known as Assault rifles, so how the hell does such a system exist in what may as well be 1939, aside from underbarrel grenade launchers. And then they weren't really underbarrels more attachments, like cello-taped...that's a humorous thought actually, a full blown- Focus Craig! "This can't be the Storm"

"Think you can have the boys at R&D check it over and reproduce it? Sure could use some shotgunners in the field, along with enough ammo to last" You've got to admit, beside being up front with her (if not a bit too up front) I had a point...and I hate shotguns, you have to get too close for them to be of any real use. Urban environments when your attacking in a house, yes. Anywhere else, I'll stick to my Mags. Heck, I'd prefer something like an M4 or even a G36 but right now, with current tech limitations, Mags. Varrot nodded, lowering the shotgun.

"I'll see what I can do, but It'd be doubtful. Gallian forces are reliant on our rifles so a shotgun isn't go to fit well" Understandable, I suppose. Heck, I know modern day shotguns are rare, unless the Masterkey. "But, Gentleman, I must go. Your orders are to return to the fort tomorrow to resupply and be debriefed. Dismissed"

well, that went easier and quicker then expected.

_A demotion on the first major operation. Ouch._

_But I suppose it's the best we could hope._

_But down time, something we needed after what we had done_

_maybe I could get some more research done._


	29. The Richest Man'

I will be honest, I had absolutely no Idea of how to do this one, but I had to start somewhere. And yes, this one is short.

* * *

Chapter 28

'The richest man'

_With the Centrals taking over defence of Vasal, we got some downtime_

_a day, at most, but that's enough for me._

_Considering we got up bloody early for this, I'm surprised I'm still standing_

You know, when I say 'I want to do some research' remind me not to say it to people who know a lot about history. In fact, let me be more specific then that.

Remind me NEVER to ask the one guy who can only see history from it's economic side.

After saying I was doing some research to the guys, Knute offered to join me, and we found probably the only good library in town, on our side of Vasel so safe from...a lot of things. We got looking through some old newspapers from EW1 and the interwar period.

On my end of things, I was looking up my family's history, finding out if Mum and Ted did anything notable in the period.

On his end...he was looking up how the war affected the stocks and shares of Federation companies.

Yeah, I'm not kidding.

I had a copy of the Gallian from EW1's...I suppose midwar for Gallia, which detailed the plans for a raid which had been successful. 'the Rovin' Reapers' as they were called had hit a Federation supply base, rescuing dozens of POWs and civilians from the Feds whilst destroying supplies and material and even stealing battle plans. It listed my mum...a major surprisingly, as leading the raid with 'daring skill and luck' and bringing the Imperials to bear.

"August 15th" I say to Knute, rubbing my head as he goes through his whole list.

"Ah, that raid put the IBT shares down 5 points per share" he told me. This was one of those things where I would say a date for him and he'd tell me the market's reactions... not that I cared.

"So...not much difference eh?" I shuffled some more papers, bringing up the next one, dated September 22nd, another raid, this time on an Imp base and leading to the infamous 'Bridge of Castalion' incident. Another successful raid, with the same rewards for Mum, but with a damning line for Ted, citing 'a lack of thought and reckless endangerment to men's lives, whilst also thoughtless about the men left behind'. Harsh words, for sure, but I'm not surprised, it's Ted, what can they expect?

I put the paper to one side, Knute giving me an odd look. "What was the date?" he asked, I raised an eyebrow.

"September 22nd...Knute, why do you want to know how it used to be on the markets?"

"To predict the growth of the markets from this war, which on that day had the Federation's USA shares (the USA is a company now?) soaring by about 60 points a share"

"Knute, I have no clue what that even means" he gave me a shocked look.

"You don't know the meaning of points a share?"

"No, and I frankly don't ca-"

"Well my young friend, the stock market is a dangerous place and you need your wits about you" he seemed too happy when he started, standing up and pacing. "You see, the market is made up of companies that have issues stocks and shares to be spread about the market, costing a certain figure, we'll say 50 ducats for this example" The currency here. I think it's like...100 Ducats to the Lyote or something like that. "As the Company has good days, where it sells products well, makes a good turnover and profit, it's shares go up by a certain amount, we'll say 8 ducats for this. We call this an increase on points per share" I nodded, half listening as I got to a new page. "if it does badly, it goes down"

"So basically" I'm getting a lesson I don't want and I doubt anyone wants to hear. "the better you are doing the more your worth"

"Precisely, and playing the stock market can make you a wealthy person"

"Knute, that doesn't explain why you want to know the past of Economics" or why I want to know.

"History often repeats in areas like the market. If a company did well in a war, it will in the next one. Take the Gallian, it's share index increased by 50 points over the course of the war. It is increasing now" that...does kind of explain it but WHY DO I WANT TO KNOW? "That's the exciting life of economics" Exciting life of economics my ass. I can't help but shake my head as I read a new article, this one on about (and my god it has a sense of timing) how Ted Appleby made a fortune...selling his shares in the Gallian...you know, I'm starting to wonder how this world works. Does it just so happen to fill in the blanks in my history for me or do I just get it filled in as I go along?

Either way, it went on, that's how he funded the wedding to my Mum and they got married...the day after the war ended, in March...on which the anniversary just so happened to be when the Imps attacked. I lent back in my chair, my brain hurting from the newpapers and Knute's lessons in crap I'll never need.

"One does not become a rich man over night" he told me. At this, I sorta flipped

"You're not rich now, heck, your as poor as I am" now, considering I think I have nothing...to me this is a major zing. To him, normal.

"But my fortunes are changing, when this war ends I'll be the richest man this side of the Confederacy" Oh please tell me he didn't just say that. The Confederacy? Forgive me if I'm wrong but isn't that the side that lost the American civil war? GOD HELP ME!

"Look, Knute, even I know that that's never going to happen. The richest person in Gallia is the Duchess, and then she's not as rich as the Federation. Chances are your fortunes lay outside Gallia" I stood up, giving him a nod. "Now, thank you for the help"

_I am never asking Knute for help with research ever again._

_But he did give me some food for thought._

_He seemed to be obsessed with money. Why?_

_Who knows but...I'll come out one day, I'm willing to bet._

* * *

Yeah...it's Knute, he's obsessed with money.

Ok, fine, I couldn't think of anything good. This is what froze me for god knows how long, how to show Knute off.

And it's not that he has a complex character, it's more that he seems to think a lot about money and blight all else. I'm not good with people like that.

But, at least NOW he is done, I can move to my next tar- I mean vic- I mean squadmate.


	30. Helping hand

Chapter 29

Helping hand.

_Being around Knute had gotten my brain all muddled up_

_So what else could I do._

_Last I knew we were packing up to leave…_

* * *

For once being near the supplies turned out to be a blessing, as after my outing in the library, I settled down to getting the gear packed up ready for us to go, as per Welkin's request on the way back.

From what I had heard, it was a few sandbags, wood logs which were meant to be used for a barrier of sorts and a few guns….well, I say a few but they were things like Imperial Lances and other Imperial weapons and mags. And there was a small pile of them.

Where else do I start in the pile then with the sandbags, grunting as I picked each up in turn and throwing them into the back of a pickup truck. To say it wasn't fun was an understatement, each one was heavy and by god I wish I hadn't bothered.

And then, oh god the lances. I bent down to grab one by the shaft, moving to try and lift it off the ground and…my god it must have weighted a TON! I couldn't lift it off the ground. The more I yanked it to try and lift it off the ground the less it moved. I groaned a few times as I yanked it some more, losing my grip and flying onto my back, hitting the concrete hard as I landed, groaning once more.

"This is going to be harder then I thought" I said to myself, flipping up onto my backside. "How on earth do the Lancers carry that?" I stood up, cracking my knuckles and neck. "Right…." I put my hands back around the shaft, straining to lift it up, then hearing footsteps running up behind me.

"Allow me to help" I heard a voice speak, seeing two hands wrap around the Lance, looking at their owner….Lynn?

With her help we lifted the Lance off the ground, carrying it over to the pickup and throwing it in. I breathe a few times as I turn to Lynn, the Darcsen acting as if it was nothing.

"Thanks" I told her, walking over to another one, the woman coming over to give me a hand. "You know, you don't have to if you don't want to"

"It's best for us all if I help out" she replied, both of us throwing the second lance in. I looked back, seeing about 3 more. "Besides, I need to get some work done"

"What do you mean?" She walked over to the smaller fire arms, picking them up and throwing them over to me one at a time, to which I'd grab them and put them in.

"It's kind of a long….and silly reason" she replied, stopping to give an Imperial SMG a quick look over before throwing it to me.

"I'm silly for going in that river the temperature it was, and we've got a long time" I gave her a smile as I grabbed the gun. You know, I'm just giving these a quick check in my hands and they feel heavier then the Gallian weapons in general. Maybe they are making up for the weight with power…from what I could tell with their rifles the irons were worse.

Lyn shook her head as she carried on throwing me more of the guns, the pair of us clearing the stack quickly as we got some help from some central lancers, the pair of them deciding to grace us with their presence long enough to actually be a hand. They took some of the wood off us for a while, leaving us with the lances.

Lynn had grabbed one end as I grabbed the other, both of us lifting it up when one of the blighters started laughing at our attempt to lift it, both of us looking at him as we threw it in.

"And I thought the Imps were weak, and now I see a Dark hair who can't lift a lance without help from a Shock trooper…just when I thought I had seen everything" one of them spoke, Lynn looking away as I kept looking.

"An' they say t' Militia retook t' bridge. That I doubt…must have been a very weak Imperial garrison" I raised an eyebrow at this part.

"If it was so weak, then how come you couldn't break it?" I countered. One of them crossed his arms, shaking his head.

"We were told to leave you part-timers to it, leave the REAL work to the regulars"

"Oh really? Is that what happened here the first time the Imperials cam to say hi? 'Oh hi, you want this city? Sure have it. Just leave the keys under the door mat when you leave'" he left himself open to that one. He shook his head, loading up the last bit of lumber.

"Alright sure shot, what would you have done differently at Kloden?" Kloden? You mean that supply base where-…hmmm.

"Well, for one, taken a good defensive position as opposed to charging the Imps, and second, actually stick with my men" two things Damon did, charging the enemy lines and then leaving his men to die as the battle faltered to the Imps favour. "Need anything else?" the lancer shook his head, rubbing his face.

"You got this one" he got the last bit of lumber, chucking it in. "And remember this, as you might need to do this one day" Remember what? You helping me out?

The pair walked off after they put the lumber away, myself and Lynn finishing off the weapons and such. I leaned against the pickup, breathing a few times as I stretched my arms. Lynn stretched her legs, both of us stopping around the same time.

"Let me guess…that was the reason" I said to her. She stopped stretching, nodding to me.

"Needed to get away from people like that" She admitted, nodding. "So far you seem like one of the more…" she paused, unsure of how to advance, I presume.

"Dispassionate"

"I was going to say unbiased, but yes" She turned away, pacing. "Sometimes….I need some air and something to take my mind off it"

"So you go and do some work…makes sense I suppose" she stopped pacing, turning back to me and nodding.

"Your lucky you've been outside of Gallia…you haven't seen how bad it can get…" she shook her head at this. "You'd be surprised how many people still hold us accountable for the Calamity…despite the lack of evidence" I shake my head back, crossing my arms.

"I'm hoping this isn't just me" I start, smiling. But judge the person, not the appearance" she smiled back to me, nodding.

"Thank you…" she replied, giving me a salute. "I'll make sure to repay you for this"

"Repay me for what?" I raised my eyebrow, unsure of what she was on about.

"You'll understand as you grow up and see more of life"

It's never as simple as 'thanks for this' now is it?

* * *

_Regulars hating Militia_

_People hating Darcsens._

_I fail to see how they can do so. I like them so far._

_And if not for her…I'd still be pulling up that Lance_

* * *

so what started as getting to know Lynn became helping her with anti-darcsen sentiments...don't I have a way of making things go around?


	31. Messenger

It's been a while has it not? Sorry, been dealing with College which is now over. Little note though, got university in September so...well, here's hoping I get this done before then.

Speaking of that, hard to believe I've had this and Friends in Warfare up for 3 years. Heck, it's about my 4th year on FF. Many happy returns blah blah blah.

So, where was I again...oh yes.

Chapter 31:

Messenger

_it was weird what happened next._

_And not weird as in strange_

_weird as in...I dunno, unexpected._

_Doesn't really say a lot considering the world we're in now._

Around sunset, Squad 7 received an official order from command, and indeed Varot after she made it back to Randgriz. Welkin had us running around the streets gathering up what remained of our equipment and gather in the square in front of the, now charred, cathedral. We did so, with the group looking at Welkin as he spoke to Is and Alicia. I stood to one side, looking between Welkin and the small groups we had within the squad. It was...strange to say the least. I mean we had known each other a few days at best...and yet we were talking to each other as if we had known each other longer. Marina was to one side on her own, but Ted would, every so often, come over to her, trying to make her laugh or at least talk..and suffice to say I've never seen someone swing a rifle butt so fast towards someone's crotch. It got a good laugh every time, as Ted seemed too determined or wouldn't learn.

James was crouched with his rifle over his shoulder, talking to Catherine. I didn't know what about but whatever it was, they were laughing and joking at times. James would sometimes have a serious look on him as he talked, and indeed his stripes had been knocked down a shade. I sighed, sliding down the wall as I sat down, my MAGS being placed next to me as I did so.

This had been one hell of a mental two days...hell, this had been a hell of a time period. To go from nothing to war to picking up a gun and killing was all too fast for me to be completely honest. I looked at my hands once more, flexing them as I got to thinking about all this.

I had been through hell already...and I survived this far. I breathed a bit as I looked up slightly. I can do this...I know it. I heard footsteps running towards us, looking towards it and seeing...a soldier of our side. Really, the only thing that made him look any different from the others was his clothing being lighter. The armor itself was the same of course, can't really compromise on that even if you haven't got that much cash.

"What'cha doing buddy?" I heard someone next to me speak, hearing a thud as someone sat next to me. I turned quickly, a hand going to the pistol holstered on my belt, not pulling it as the face registered.

"Oh...hey Ted" I replied, taking my hand away as I leaned back once more. Way to relax Craig, way to relax. "What's up?"

"Oh, the sky, Nadine's writing, Lynn's ethic and my hair style" was that his attempt at a joke? "But aside from that, I'm good...thanks for the help with the spies by the way"

"Your welcome...guess you recovered alright judging on this" He put his arms behind his bed, leaning against the wall as he did so and putting one leg over the other.

"Yeah, I got better. Wish I had been able to do more though. If I had gotten my hands on them they would've looked a lot more like Damon on a bad day" I cracked a small smile at this I'll admit. "Or better yet, the Imperial Emperor himself" still the same smile. "How about you? I heard you and the Airy Adventurers did a bit of a job on this side before we even landed"

"Yeah...we did" I reached around, grabbing the knife and pulling it out to show him. "Had to use this for something other then cutting the butter..." he took it off me, flipping it around in his hand a few times.

"You used this thing? Come on, I've seen better hunting knives" he passed it back to me, grabbing three mags from his pocket and holding them in his hands. "But saying that I'm not the one who used it" he started juggling the trio doing quite a job at it might I add. "And then I'm not the one they asked to do it" was I asked? I think I was more told. "You did a good job for us buddy...and there's no punchline right now"

"But you'll think of one I bet" He scratched his chin between juggles, giving me a wide smile.

"Well, next time I need help sneaking into my girlfriend's house I'll ask you" Girlfriend?

"You have a girlfriend?" he nodded, catching the mags so that they stood one on top of the other.

"Yeah, just gotta meet her first. She's out there somewhere" I raised an eyebrow at this, only to get a confident smile and a thumbs up in return. "Now, as short as this has been, Round 500" He stood up, replacing his mags and starting to walk.

"Erm, Ted. Guard your crotch this time" He gave me a nod as he returned to Marina, the rifle being swung, this time, Ted stopping it, only to get her to spin around and trip him with it.

Poor guy. I couldn't help but laugh a bit at this though, but went back to leaning against the wall. Gotta give him credit, he's determined. It got better, the wall I was leaning against wasn't as secure as I thought it was. Maybe it was the firefights, maybe it was the fire, I don't know, but the wall gave way, with me falling backwards banging my head on the wood of the floor with a thud and a curse from my lips. There was an awkward silence, followed by a bit of laughter as I lifted myself back up, rubbing the back of my head.

"Corporal Craig Appleby" I hear, looking over and seeing the man from earlier, along with some vehicles coming to the square, like the old...well, I should say modern infantry trucks. You know, the type associated with motorized infantry in WW- I'm going to be quiet now. I stand up, grabbing my gun at the same time.

"Who's asking?"

"Message for you sir, from Commander Seigfried Tilesti" Commander who? Isn't Commander an Honorary title? Whatever the case, he handed me an envelop, giving me a salute after I take it from him. "Good luck sir" He ran off before I could say anything else, leaving me with an envelop and looks from the others.

"Alright, everyone in the backs, we're off back to Randgriz" Welcome for the distraction, Welkin gave his order, everyone looking away as they grabbed their gears and walked in, jumping into the backs, some needing help to climb in.

I for one climbed in, helping Lynn and Wavy in as well as I did so before sitting down as they eventually churned into life. The streets of Vasel leaving us as we started to move out, only the Edelweiss following us.

I wasn't really paying attention. As much as I love the scenery, I had another job to do. I looked at the letter, the envelope looking quite fancy, in a Gallian blue sealed with wax bearing the emblem of Bruhl, somehow. I quickly broke it, pulling it open and grabbing the letter, reading it.

_Corporal Craig Appleby_

_ I have seen, and indeed heard of your exploits since the battles at Bruhl, and I am pleased to ask you to join me and a few acquaintances of mine for a chat. Men like you are needed in order to save Gallia during this troubled time, and indeed, we would like to extend this offer to you in order to make the Imperials fear the Gallian Armed Forces whether they think they can take us or not._

_Captain Varrot passed your name on and this was hastily made, so forgive the lack of detail in this. If you are interested then please come to the Unicorn's spear and speak to the bartender. Ask for a drink of Gallia's finest._

_A friend._

A secret already eh? I looked up at Lynn and Wavy, nodding a few times.

"Hey, does Gallia make any drinks?" I asked, looking between the two. "may as well get some drinking done at some point"

"As much as I disagree with that idea...Gallia doesn't make it's own Alcohol...best we do is import it from the Feds" Lynn explained.

Well joy.

_Something about this didn't add up..._

_Varrot passing my details on so soon..._

_a friend offering me a chance to do more..._

_least it was something to do._


	32. The Long Ride Home

Something must be up when my mind is screaming 'WORK HARDER MAN WORK HARDER!'

and I've worked something out...how the hell am I going to make a relatively...readable story, as in not too long, if I develop everyone on the Gallian side? I mean, I'm not going to really develop the main characters too much as they get a lot in the main game but the others...gonna be a while.

Anyway, blah blah blah MOVING ON WITH MISCLICKS!

Chapter 32:

The long ride home

_Considering how far we had walked to get to Vasel, it was nice to ride back in a truck_

_saying that, the walk was nice, got us used to the weight of the weapons_

_maybe this would happen more often._

_Chances are not, we'd walk to battle and ride back_

_but...maybe we'd get a ride near..._

Considering We'd just left a battle site behind, it was kind of...I don't know, calm. I had my elbows on my knees as my gun laid on the floor, the sling around my foot, as we rode back to the Fort, head down with my hands on the back of my head. The rest of the company was chatting away, with only me staying silent, thinking.

That one letter...why was it bothering me so bloody much? It was niggling at the back of my skull so damn much? It was just a letter of an invitation, nothing more...so what was bothering me about it? I let my head go, leaning back against the side and sighing. May as well relax now. Jobs done and we're heading back home.

"Come on man, I'm betting that it's from EW1" I heard someone...I think Alex, I wasn't really listening if I'm honest. "You don't walk around with that many bullets on you just to look good" Was he talking about Catherine? I'm sure it's Alex now.

"Oh come on, it could just be one of those things, you know" Ramona replied. She was on here as well? Joy. "Who knows, the Soldier look could come back into style, or indeed the Sniper or Hunter motive"

"I don't think she's one to actually pay that much attention to fashion. Heck, last I knew she didn't match fashion to the moment"

"Well she does pull off some good looks, you know. Like, look at her casual wear, it works for her. She doesn't just wear the clothing, she owns that look"

"Ramona, what does that have to do with the amount of bullets on her?" Why did I start listening to this conversation? I already feel dumber. I pulled out my knife, flipping it around in my hand a few times, getting used to it in some regard.

"Well, I could bring up someone who can pull off another look" Ramona spoke.

"Oh, really, then come on, tell me" I looked to them, hearing a whispering as she got closer to him. The pair looked at me, Alex nodding. "Yeah...yeah I see what you mean"

"Alex...I have to ask, out of wonder, how did you manage to get stuck in a conversation about fashion?" I asked, flipping the blade back to front in my hand. He shook his head.

"Don't ask man, it's one of those things that should 'never' have happened" I can see from the corner of my eye Lynn looking at him, and Wavy was doing the same,

"You serious?" I asked, getting a nod.

"He's not that bad at it" Ramona spoke, smiling. "Heck, I wouldn't be surprised he reads a lot of the fashion mags" Alex blushed at this, scratching the back of his head.

"Well...how about I slightly change the subject off of fashion for a bit" Wavy interjected. We all looked at him as he kinda spoke up. "Alex, have you got family around?" Alex blinked a few times.

"Well...my Ma and Pa are still around, along with my Sis" He leaned back, sighing. "Ma is a pilot in the Nibelheim Airforce" Ok, quick note for you folks, Nibelheim, along with coincidentally being the name of a location in Final Fantasy 7, is also a country in the area that back home was Iberia (That's Portugal and Spain to those who don't know). "My Pa is a farmer who is lucky enough to work the land the other side of Randgriz, and my Elder Sis, Martha, serves in the navy aboard the only battleship Gallia has, the Lance of Freedom" So...an Air force pilot, a farmer, and a naval officer...nice mix...so he's half...Nibelheimian? Wow, that's a mouth full. "What about you guys? Anyone got family out here, aside from your brother, Craig"

"Actually, I can mention more, as my Dad passed on two years back, and my Mum...I haven't actually seen her since I got back so I couldn't say to be honest...I'll check on her when I get back to Randgriz" Serious, I'll have to, as I'm pretty sure that she'll be different. If she's not mine then fair enough. If she's the one I know...wow, don't know what I'd do to be blunt. "However, I know the pair served in Belgen Gunther's Squad, so that's my link to Welkin somehow. And you know my brother serves in this squad" I leaned back, sighing. "So who's next?" There was a bit of a pause, followed by a silence broken only by the various engines and speed bumps.

"Well, my Mother works in textiles, and since this war began she changed over to making our combat suits...I think she actually worked on the clothes you, Aika and Vyse are wearing now Craig" Ramona chipped in. I raised an eyebrow, checking my clothing once more.

"She's good, I'll give her that. I prefer this to the Gallian Uniform" She smiled, waving a hand.

"I'll let her know...as for my father, he's in the back lines dealing with, like, decryption of the enemy radio frequencies and such" Fancy, I'll give her that one. "I actually have a brother as well, but he's living in the Confederacy. Made it out there before the depression and now runs his own journalism business"

"That's nice" Lynn spoke. We all turned to her next, seeing her leaning back. "To be honest...my own family isn't much...My father, Ranoc, works in the mines of Fouzen...my mother died when I was born...Don't really have much else" Wow...way to ruin the mood there.

"It's alright Lynn" Wavy spoke, pushing his glasses up his face a bit more. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to" Lynn looked at him, nodding.

"Sorry...it's just...knowing that he's stuck in there with the Imperials bearing down on him"She looked to the Edelweiss behind us, looking downhearted, an awkward silence fell upon us once more, broken only when I grabbed my gun and swapped sides, putting my gun and knife down and putting a hand on her back.

"Relax...we'll make it out...We're Gallians, we're tougher then we look" She didn't move, only sighing as I took my hand off of her. "Come on, chin up. We'll make it" Think it might be wise to move on slightly. "Wavy, what about you? Any family?" He looked down, his eyes half closed as he rubbed his chin.

"I'd rather not talk about mine if you don't mind" He simply spoke, sighing. "It's...a touchy subject to be honest" Ah.

"Oh...ok...I've gotcha" I shook my head once more, leaning against the side and sighing. Darcsens: gotta love them for conversation.

It was kind bad after that, as I switched sides once more, letting Lynn have her moment as I took my earpiece out. I yawned after this, crossing my arms and looking at the guys, the 4 of them going back to their conversation, now on the subject of a Ragnite style of clothing. Damn one track mind of Ramona I suppose.

It had been a long day, going from dawn to now was hell with all I had done. My eyes felt like lead as they slowly but surely closed, the sounds of the conversation, the engines, and indeed the tank slowly but surely fading. I don't know who the Valkyrur are, even after having it explained to me, but...may they watch over me as I sleep...

_I had to give them credit, they had their own issues._

_I was lucky, I had my brother alongside me, my dad was dead_

_and my mum...I don't know who she is at the minute_

_I can miss her...but would seeing her make me miss her more..._


	33. Back At the Fort

I think I've caught update-itus as I keep getting to work on these.  
Only issue is when I update is really early...like...REALLY early.  
but MOVING ON...where was I again? OH YEAH the ride back.

p.s. There are so many times whilst writing this where I nearly put in text speak.

Chapter 33

Back at the fort

_Something told me the Fort was going to be a very familiar sight by the end of this war_

_I didn't mind it to be fair, it wasn't that bad a place, if cramped..._

_Still...I have to be honest, going a whole day like I had..._

_I didn't expect to fall asleep on the way back. The day must have tired me out more then I thought..._

"Ok...few more seconds" I heard someone speak, my eyes slowly opening as I woke from my slumber, feeling something running along the skin on my face...almost drawing whiskers on my face...it almost felt like a... "Done" It came off my face, some giggles coming quietly from someone. I finally opened them, seeing feet running off from the truck as I stretched a bit.

"Rise and shine twinkle toes" I heard Ted speak, shaking my head before turning to him, seeing Vyse, Aika and Fina behind him, looking away. I can tell Aika's got her hand in front of her mouth. "You have a good snooze sleeping beauty?" I rubbed the back of my head, sighing.

"Yeah...it was good enough I suppose...Didn't exactly mean to do so" I grabbed my Mags off the floor, standing up and jumping out of the truck. "Still, better this then waiting forever to get back" I looked around, finding that we were in the R&D section of the fort, which seemed to double as a parking lot of sorts. Heck, we're right next to the Ragnite fuel dump as it is. I got a good look at Vyse's face, and he was trying his best to avoid laughing. "OK, what's going on?"

"Oh nothing, nothing at all Catman" I raised an eyebrow, walking around to the wing mirror and looking at myself.

Now, I have to do two things right now: the first, respect the artist for his skill at drawing on my face. Just to let you know it's literally just a cat face, whiskers and such added in for effect in a nice, as bad a naming as it is, Imperial Red.

As for the second, well, it's easiest to just say it this way:

My gun falls to the ground with a metallic thunk.

"Ted...can I borrow that pen of yours?" I ask, Ted placing it in my hand before stepping away slyly.

"What do you want it for if I may ask" Vyse, Aika and Fina now laughing their heads off.

"Because Ted...You'd better run..." I turned towards him at this, throwing my jacket off quickly. "Because I'm going to KILL YOU!"

He started jogging away at this as I lunged towards him, the clown jumping as I hit the ground hard. I shook my head as I lifted myself up once more, chasing after him around the hangar, thankfully no one else was inside so free rein around the place. He lead me on a merry chase around the place, jumping over obstacles as I did my best to follow. He jumped on a tank at one point with an almost incredible ease, leaving me to run up a crates of ammo lined up next to it in a coincidental line, but my dive at the clown standing on the tank turret went wrong, missing him as he jumped over me, planting his hand on my back as I flew by, and landing face first in a thankfully empty wooden barrel.

Ever found yourself in a moment normally reserved for Cartoons and Anime? Or maybe a chapter of a story? Now I can say I have been as I flail my legs around, stuck in the bloody thing. I can hear in the background loads of laughter. Well...this isn't how I expected my day to end up.

And you know what, it got worse, someone got another barrel, grabbed my legs so that they wouldn't flail about and put my legs in it.

I don't think I need to go into detail on this.

Well...eventually they let me out the pair, dizzy as hell, planting a flannel on my face to remove the pen...laughing all the while. OK, maybe if I was a bystander it'd be funny, I'll admit. Either way after all the shenanigans we had a quick meeting with Welkin and the rest of the squad to attend, along with Varrot wanting to see me, apparently...couldn't they have just passed on the Memo...wait I was sleeping...crap. Either way, thankfully it was all in the same room so that was the simple thing about it.

We wandered in to the mess hall, thankful getting a quick meal as well. Considering we are in a war economy...who fancies Spam eggs, spam chips, spam spam, and spam. You think I'm kidding? Well, those chips are looking very pinkish. I'm thankfully sat down on the same table as Largo, Hector, Nadine, and others, meaning no shenanigans from Ted.

Honestly...I wasn't really listening to any of the conversation. I got bits and pieces in between my musings but really, I was wondering what Varrot wanted me for. I mean, I could hazard a guess but...well, I wouldn't really want to to be bluntly honest. Knowing how this was going it'd be news I didn't want to hear. Let's see, Mum died, Dad's a zombie...James is demoted further...The world as I know it is the whimsy of some second rate author, who knows. (Although admittedly the last one is an entertaining thought to say the least. If this is someone writing a book, please don't make me too OP OK?)

"...then Craig sets fire to the church using the alcohol he had gotten from the tavern but it killed a few Imperials. The shock factor also helped us out" Catherine finishes telling, patting me on the back as she did so. "I think...if not for that...we'd have been unable to save James" OK, now that is overdramatising it slightly don't you think. "Either way, I think the Applebys have been pulling their weight...bit different from when we first met considering they didn't look like they had fired a gun before Bruhl" yeah, about that...

"I'm not saying anything against Craig here, the kid's got guts I'll give 'im that" Largo chipped in, smoking a Cigar as he spoke. "James on the other hand...I've got to question a few things about him..."

"Trust me Largo, you're not saying anything that hasn't already been said" I told him, sighing. "What's the latest on his lines by the way?"

"Latrine duty during our downtime...be thankful Damon Didn't get involved or else we'd be saying so long to him"

"And hello to the firing line" Marina chipped in. I looked at her, gulping. James, get your ass back in gear. I don't want to have to bury you due to GALLIANS killing you of all the people in the world.

"That reminds me" Largo pulled out his cigar, looking at me. "What happened to that knife of yours...and indeed the uniform?" the knife? Erm...

"It's still attached to my belt" I tell him, dejectedly as I grab the knife from my jeans, placing it on the table. "Thanks for reminding me about that...as for the uniform...your guess is as good as mine..."

"I think Welkin asked for a few clean sets for you three when we got back, so they should be on the beds for you" Alicia was on this table? damn, how didn't I notice her? Must have been too lost in thought. "Also a few spare sets of what your wearing now...if the need ever arises for the same to happen somewhere else" they have Jeans, Leather and...whatever a teashirt is made of in 1939 EC?

"Oh joy, more sneaking on the back lines...at least let me know sometime before I'm meant to go, instead of just 'we're here, go now'" OK, yes, definitely a moan, but considering that I threw my ass into the fire, you've got to give me credit on that front that it's a serious concern of mine. Would always be better to make some sort of plan.

"It was a last minute thing...Welkin didn't know about the beachhead being that actively guarded. If he had then we'd have told you before we left" I sighed. It made SOME sense I suppose. But why not just, oh I don't know, look at it through a pair of binoculars or indeed a sniper lens? Oh whatever, it's over now.

"OK Guys! May I have your attention for a few moments?" Welkin started, standing at the center of all of all of us. We stopped whatever we were doing, turning to look at him, with even Captain Varrot to one side doing the same. "Thank you. Now before I begin I would like to say one thing...thank you all for your hard work today. Vasel is back in our hands and with that, the lock down on Randgriz is lifted." This got several cheers from the guys on one of the tables. "Next...we captured a few Imperial weapons whilst in Vasel, so that will help our weapons development programs. Not to mention give us an idea of how to counter the Imperial Tank legions we face" this drew silence, but I got what it meant, better AT guns. Better lances and indeed better firearms. Not to mention better gear to resist this stuff. I wouldn't mind better designed Kevlar.

"Next, we have a week's downtime before getting back into the training regiment. Call it an apology from the higher ups for deploying us so quickly after forming. Not to mention having to deal with a high stress operation straight off the bat. Command are looking into what the situation is on the front before deploying us once more. Not to mention that the Militia is still acquiring draftees, so more squads are going to be formed"

"And, for other business. Craig" Everyone turned to me. OH GOD this can't end well. "Next time you attack the enemy in a church, try not to burn it down at the same time" I scratched the back of my head at this.

"But it's so easy and fun" I whined. "And effective...besides, the Imperials did worse"

"When you can show me a church that has been destroyed by the enemy then I'll let you off" hmm...here's hoping I do some back line job in a town somewhere with a lot of TNT. 'why is this church destroyed?' Imps.

"Sure...fair enough...ruin my fun"

"I know that we say the enemies can burn in hell, but that's ridiculous" Ted speaks, getting a few chuckles.

"Also" Welkin interrupts. "Good news from Randgriz: if you produce evidence of being in the Militia or the Regulars, you'll get free drinks. Don't go overboard with this but enjoy yourselves" SWEET! ALCOHOL! "This applies to just about any tavern in Randgriz so be happy at this" wow, that's general isn't it? Why do I suddenly feel like I'm one of the generic mooks from those hack and slash titles?

"So, with that, dismissed"

I'm going to save you all a lot of time, for you see after everyone filed out I went over to Varrot in her side of the room, giving her a salute as I did so, seeing the young woman giving me a salute in return.

"You wanted to see me ma'am" I said to her. She lowered her arm first, to which I did the same.

"I did Corporal, and it's a few matters I have to ask about" She replied, pushing up her glasses. "First of all, I assume you got the letter from Commander Siegfried"

"I did...though I wonder what he commands"

"You'll find out...but this is a small warning...don't go and find out what he's offering half hardheartedly. It's a serious thing he's asking about, so don't take it lightly at all"

"I understand Ma'am"

"The second: the shotgun you acquired in Vasel...the boys down at R&D say they can make one as a test model. And maybe make a few other things besides"

"Least I can do my job"

"And lastly...I've heard a few things...and the R&D boys were hoping you could do them a favor"

"Name it"

"You found the Shotgun in the field, they want you to keep an eye out for other weapons or indeed give them ideas for new weapons" I raised an eyebrow at this.

"That's my job Ma'am...but permission to speak freely?"

"Granted"

"How come you practically stating the obvious? The first I was already doing, the second I could gather and the third...is standard protocol if your thinking things through" Varrot raised an eyebrow back at me, but otherwise her face remained the same. "There's something off...like something else you were going to tell me but have chosen not to" She pushed her glasses up, sighing.

An almost awkward silence took root at this point, only broken by the sounds of plates being cleaned. I watched her with an almost hawk like gaze as she returned, her eyes barely moving, the woman barely blinking at all. Eventually she exhaled, shaking her head before turning away.

"I didn't want to say this to you...but we got news from the front...regarding your mother" She eventually spoke, I blinked, my mouth opening slightly as I listened, wondering what she was going to say. "General Damon brought her out of retirement and back into her old unit, along with making herr run a solo-mission behind enemy lines, doing sabotage work along the Barious Desert lines..." she pushed her glasses up again, clenching her fist as she lowered her hand. "She hasn't been seen or heard from since the second check in...she's MIA presumed...dead"

You know...at this point I know I should be really upset. That's my Mum, lost or killed on the frontline. And I never got to see her since I came back. But...I don't...I don't feel anything, not even a tinge of sadness. In this world she was someone. I don't know if she is my mum and James' mum...she's just someone. Varrot turns to me, seeing me working it through in my head.

"Your brother already knows...I told him upon him leaving his transport...if you need time to recover from this...take the whole week...but come back as we need you both in top form for the rest of this war"

Varrot walked away at this, leaving me to my thoughts as her footsteps echoed. Dad was dead...but I wasn't going to miss him either way...and now Mum was presumed dead...now all I've got is James. I sighed before walking out of the mess hall, about ready to fall down dead upon my bunk for sleep...

_to be told my family had been taken...not something you hear every day  
__but then...to have no real reaction to it...same again.  
__I'm thankful I used to live in a time where the wars were pretty much small in scale.  
__Nothing compared to this...not even Iraq or Afghanistan. Outside of the world wars of course_

Before it's said, I'm not saying anything against the Iraq or Afghan war. They are small though. It's not the whole of Iraq or Afghan is it? Seeing as EW2 is meant to be WW2 then that has a bigger scale anyway.

Anyway...this chapter didn't feel right as I did it, but reading it back over...it worked. And I do remember that I have the farmer's road mission to chip in but I have an idea for that. It's a three man op in game so not all the squad will be going.


	34. Swift Justice

In my cycle of getting around to things, back on with this before I forget. TO THE THING WITH THE GUY!

Chapter 34:

Swift Justice

_I knew I was never going to get used to getting up at the early army hours._

_I had only imagined how hard the Military had it before...now I know it._

_Makes me glad that I've never had to do this before_

_and it's helping me and my skill set._

"...So then, you take this over like this and...voila" of all people, This was Alex, teaching me how to make an origami bird. It was a beautiful thing. Hell, even working out where to put the colors and such to make the whole thing look right.

Then we compare it to mine...it looks as much like a bird as my body looks like a horse. This is one thing I'm not likely to get isn't it? We were outside on a...decidedly warm April day. I was half expecting it to be freezing cold after the past few days, relaxing in our informal clothing in town, sitting outside a cafe, The Freneasy (Which I found quite entertaining when I thought about it), on a corner somewhere. We'd been dragged up town with Aika, Fina, Nadine and Ramona, losing Vyse somewhere. The ladies were clothes shopping on a budget, something which myself and Alex had been roped into acting as the good old pack mules. It was nice to know that even during war we can have normal everyday business going on. I know it's not going to be like this on the Frontier, and even worse under Imperial control, but here...peace. I almost feel bad for having my Valkyrur under my shirt.

"This is bad" I said to him, sighing as I grabbed my glass of...what was it again, something like Larengus...whatever the case it looked like Coke-Cola, tasted like Coke-Cola...looks like a duck, quacks like a duck. "Not my best..."

"Hey, relax bro. Everyone struggles at new skills first try" He consoled me. Yeah, about that...firing a gun was easy. "Besides, for a first attempt, your doing better then Largo"

"That's not very helpful considering that Largo's a LANCER!" yeah, had to shout the last bit for added effect...

"He didn't just pick up farming off hand you know...runs in his family and his farm is still somewhat strong" Yeah, we kinda already know that bit. I had a good swig of my drink, relaxing again.

"Yeah Yeah, I know...sorry, just...as calming as this is meant to be...it's kinda stressful" Alex laughed, taking a drink of the same thing from his glass.

"It's not easy at the start, like I said...besides, I've done this for years" He grabbed a table cloth, quickly starting to fold it. "Think of anything, anything at all. From a lance to a gun to a flower to a person" oh, a challenge eh? Alright...let's see.

"Alright...make the Edelweiss" I looked at him, seeing him give me a confident smirk.

"That's easy...we fold this like this, then move this here" he said everything as he expertly folded the cloth. He had to grab a second one, combining the two before finishing everything up, placing it on the table. "And there you go...oh, hand on" he grabbed a small piece of card, folding it up in a neat little turret and placing it on the top. "The last piece of the puzzle. What do you think?" I had to give him a nod, half smiling in surprise, the other half smiling in impression.

"Nice...didn't think you could do it to be honest" He smiled, rubbing under his nose with his finger.

"I'll be sure to remember that when I think of a challenge for you"

"Challenge for a challenge eh?"

"Well look on the bright side, it'll keep things interesting..." He leaned back in his chair, taking a swig as he did so.

I looked around the street, finding it almost amazing. You know I said earlier about how it was peaceful and such, right? Well...it was almost every day business. Kids played in the street, normal shopping, you know, that sort of thing...it was almost like there was no war on at all.

Was Britain like this during WW2? I had read, been taught...everything about the home front but to see it, minus the air raids, is something else. This country is on the edge...and yet, looking at how things are...you couldn't be blamed for thinking that we're at peace. Heck, the birds seem to be enjoying the view from that tree. It was almost tranquil, with a pair of them choosing to fly off the tree, lowering as they- uh oh.

"Incoming birds!" I shouted. Alex and I quickly grabbed our drinks, drinking what was left in case of...unexpected contamination. We no sooner put the glasses back down then the trio landed on the table, hopping around it. They were orange...already something strange compared to home. Very small feet/claws/whatever with...I want to say wings but they kinda look like flaps. Heck, I can't tell if they have feathers. If this is a bird, it's a weird one. Least the beak looks like a normal one, for fruits I think...I'm not an...Birdologist. I know that's not the word but it's the best I have. One of them flew off, leaving somewhere.

As for the other...it hung around, hopping over to me and looking at my arm. It tilted it's head before hopping on. OK, I know that I'm not a lover of nature, but I'm not going to swat a bird off my arm.

"Alex...please...little help" I said to him. He simply laid back, watching me with the bird, almost enjoying me 'suffering'. "Alex" it moved further up, even flying slightly to land on my shoulder. "Little help" The bird moved to my cheek, seeming to...brush against it with his head.

"Looks like he likes you" Alex commented. Oh so NOW he's a comedian.

"At the very least" it moved further along my shoulder, standing on the edge and looking around quickly. Ok, now's enough time, let's sweep the blighter off. "Shoo, Shoo. Fly after your friend" He started flying away to begin with, leading me to relax slightly.

Only problem was he came back, making a beeline for my head. We both watched it, not realising what it was doing until it flapped above my head, pecking away at my head. I tried to cover my head, crying out in pain all the while, with the bird moving to gaps and spaces to keep pecking. Alex meanwhile was laughing like hell. Thank you for enjoying my pain mate. Thank you so bloody much.

"OK, OK! Please, stop!" I cried out. The bird landed on my head, hopping forward and lowering it's head to look in my eyes. "What the heck do you want? I've got nothing you want"

"Is that a Gallian Swift?" oh boy, now who's talking? The bird raised it's head, giving me room to look over at the new speaker, seeing Knute with Money in his eyes. He wore a fancy black turtleneck (fancy as in well made, not fancy as in good looking in my opinion) with black trousers and shoes. "I hear those sell for quite a lot."

"Gallian Swift?" I raised an eyebrow, Alex trying his best to stifle his laughter.

"It's a good thing that I know about them then. They are quite rare...it's rare to find one at all, never mind here. They are intelligent, loyal, and used as messengers in the olden days. The numbers are so small due to being used by generals in the old wars" well, I can understand why. You see one with a message you are going to want to A: know what that is and B: interrupt the lines of communication. "I had heard that they were last known to avoid cities like this"

"What, are you going to pull a 'this must be a sign' line on me now?"

"Yes, for my wallet" I looked up at the bird as he returned, seeing Knute slowly but surely trying to sneak up, his heads out stretched ready to grab it.

He lunged, the bird flying as soon as his feet left the ground. Knute crashed into me, knocking both of us over onto the stone ground. The Bird gave one small tweet before flying off, leaving us sprawled on the ground. Alex was now laughing his head off, occasional snorts in his laughs as he did so. Knute barely moved, I was trapped.

"You idiot!" Knute finally spoke after...5 minutes or so, pushing himself up. "Do you realise how much you just lost me!?"

"What the hell are you on about?" He got off me, brushing himself off as we both got off the ground. "You were the one who lunged at me"

"That one bird was worth 25000 ducats" oh for god sake.

"Yeah, well next time take a net" he crossed his arms, giving me a last huff before walking off. I brushed off my jacket, picking the chair back up before sitting back down.

"Well, that was eventful" I spoke a last time, sitting back down.

"Sooo..." I turned again, this time seeing the ladies back from shopping. "Anyone mind filling us in on what just happened?" Ramona, if I knew, I would tell you...

_it was nice to know that people could relax and be themselves in times like this._

_Made me realise what we were fighting for._

_And what we risked losing..._

_that's when I made up my mind..._


	35. In the Dark

This chapters been rolling around in my head for ages. Its something I've been wanting to work on for a while, and it's what I do with most stories I do. (the story with a side thing. So you get the cannon and you get the fiction side) and normally...it's a small thing like...oh...Zelda I had my OC guarding Kakariko whilst Link was in the past. Small things.

This...is kinda both ambitious, and yet terrifying for me to think of what I'm going to be doing...I've been told I can do good stories. It's a trend so long as I focus and keep the pace and idea of it. As I've always done, this won't become the major element of the story, this is a minor...at most it's below equal. But it's something that I feel will add to the story. For what it's worth, there will be a good amount of chapters for this, again, not overtaking the main story. I've been wanting to do this, with...not the biggest idea of how to.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...wish me luck. I'm going to need it. Remember how Writers rely on feedback...it's especially true for these chapters.

* * *

Chapter 35:

In the Dark

_I kinda felt a bit like some sort of spy for all of this stuff._

_A secret meeting in a pub with an organization you've never heard of._

_Kinda reminds me of the SOE of World War two._

_Just not that useful in comparison..._

Ever walked into a pub where everyone's merry, drinking away as if nothings going on with a barroom singer at the back singing a merry tune? I can safely say I have...now put that in a city that practically a front line...never expected to find that here.

The pub mentioned in the letter, a small place on the side of town. Big enough to be noisy. Probably the one place in town that still is considering. The place was filled with people of various professions and creeds, backgrounds, everything. Hell, I saw people actually talking to Darcsens as if they were just another person.

Bet he's drunk.

I was probably the oddball here, walking in and listening to the music as I headed for the bar. A stranger, on instinct strangely, offering me a full glass of beer. I wasn't in my military uniform...but I hoped my pistol didn't stick out too much under this jacket. I took the drink, offering him a small nod and raising my drink to him, before lifting the oddly normal shaped glass and taking a gulp.

"You're new here, ain't cha stranger?" he asked me, his voice oddly shrill for what I thought it would be.

"What's it to ya?" I replied, looking at him.

"This be the house o' the merry, the meeting of the lax and the law of the day is you don't come to this 'ere place if you don't 'ave somethin' to do 'ere" I smirked, chugging down the drink.

"I'm meeting someone" I told him, instantly feeling that paranoid feeling of eyes on me. Either I've said something wrong, or I've said something right...or I'm paranoid, that's something to think of.

"Let's me give cha some advice stranger...don't look for trouble...it'll find you soon enough" he stood up, putting a couple of ducats on the bar before leaving. I spun around on my stool, turning to the rest of the room.

For what it was worth...I couldn't see anyone looking at me...which is what bugged me the most. In a place like this, even someone like me should stick out like the priest with the slut in his pulpit whilst he stands giving a sermon...how did I come up with that analogy? The thing was...there was one woman who looked like she was having a conversation with a young man, but she wasn't really talking. She wore a low cut blue top with a miniskirt...not really the 1940's style if that makes any sense. Hell she was wearing black sunglasses. And her hair was black, long and tied up with a ponytail of sorts. She even wore a pair of black gloves.

"You keep checking out the customers boy, they are going to start thinking you're looking for a date" an ominous voice spoke behind me. I turned around, seeing a smartly dressed man, almost befitting the apparent age. I put the glass down, nodding to him.

"Cheers for the advice" I spoke, lifting the glass back up and finishing the liquor. "But if I were here for a date, I wouldn't be with a job in mind now would I?" He leaned down, his bushy eyebrows rising as his elbow touched the desk.

"Well then, what can I serve you with?" He gave me a somewhat toothy grin, showing sections where teeth had just fallen out. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the folded letter and planting it down on the desk, looking at it before raising my head to slowly look at him.

"Give me a glass of Gallia's finest" I couldn't help but put a somewhat Irish accent on that

He gave me a confused look, reaching down and picking up the piece of paper, unfolding it slowly. His beady eyes switched between me and the writing. His expression switching between confusion, amazement and wonder. It was like showing a king that he had been excommunicated by the Papal states. I smirked, rubbing my arm. He eventually lowered the letter, looking over to the singer at the back of the room.

"Ruby! Change the track!" She finished singing the song at this point, thankfully, turning to the barkeep.

"What song do you want on sugar?" she replied, giving an almost white smile back.

"Guilty Skies!" He nodded, something obviously going on. I raised an eyebrow, knowing the song from my time.

"Ladies and gentlemen...by request of the barman-" I didn't hear the rest, the barman grabbing my shoulder and lifting me up. I heard a flute playing, that was about it before he dragged me.

"Best of the Drinks in the back" he told me, his voice more stern then before. I pushed his hand off me with a simple brush, the man opening the stocky wooden door behind him. "Private drinking session for them...follow me"

He went into the room, his feet stamping away as he did so, the singer starting to get into the central beat of the song as she went into it. Part of me was suspicious already...well, that it wasn't an invite to something good. It was shady, and that was putting it nicely. Hell, I wouldn't know if this was a trap if I walked into a firing line.

But part of me...part of me wanted to trust this guy. To follow him despite the fact that he could be doing what I just mentioned. Besides, I had my pistol on me just in case of things like that. If anything went wrong, I'd take as many of the bastards as I could with me. That and it's a bloody pub. If it was a trap, it'd be heard wouldn't it?

I shrugged, sighing as I walked forward, my hands getting thrown up in a 'what the hell' fashion as I followed. I heard a few footsteps behind me, my head turning slightly.

"Don't bother...probably one of the barmaids coming to close the door" The Barkeep spoke, the door leaving my sight before it closed. "See"

"I'll trust that for now" I spoke, blinking as he led me to a door in the side, pulling out a rusty key and inserting it slowly.

"Here's how it works: you go in, find your drink, get it over with. Got it?" He told me, turning the key, the locks loudly moving within before he pulled the door open. "In you go...oh, and take that torch from the side. Gets kinda dark in there" I raised an eyebrow, looking to a barrel on my right and seeing the torch. It was kinda odd, but familiar at the same time. It didn't look like your common everyday torch, more like...an attachment for a pistol? Well, guess I know one thing I can do when I get in. "Other then that...have a blast...and don't make too much of a mess" I'm good with my drink mate...I'm good with my drink...

I slowly walked in, holding the torch in my hand, leaving the barman behind me. The room I walked into was a small cube...with a staircase downstairs to the left, way too dark to see without a light. For what it's worth, I bet it's to a wine cellar of sorts...saying that it's a bit too...dusty, webby, that sort of thing. Hell, the walls in this little cube are full of dust and grime.

"Oh, by the way kid...your gonna need that pistol of yours" The Barkeep told me, slamming and locking the door behind me. I turned quickly, seeing one last crack of light before it was sealed from me, darkness overwhelming everything. I ran at the locked door, slamming my side against it, punching, kicking and just about anything else I could do, frantic in the darkness. I remember cursing him loudly.

"Son of a bitch" I dejectedly spoke, backing away, shaking my hands to try and work off the pain. "Couldn't have just given me a bloody open door could he?" I clicked the light on, looking down the stairs, the beam being my only real guide. I normally loved the dark, but right now...I didn't really fancy it. My first steps in the dark were tentative, slow, trying to find a path somewhere in this, barely finding the stone steps heading into the depths. My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, letting me see outside the torch light. Allow me to just point something out here. Back home

I walked down, my footsteps echoing around as I did so, my hand resisting the urge to grab my pistol as I moved. I could hear a distant dripping, presumably alcohol of some sort...least I hoped it wasn't water, not this deep. As I came to the bottom of the stairs, as much as I'd hoped otherwise...it was a crossroads of sorts. To the left, the standard storage area for the kegs of alcohol and such. I could see the pipes leading to where the bar was...hell, I could hear the section of the song. 'I will hold on to this pain because I can't abandon it'. Didn't know I'd been down here so long.

"How much longer is he going to take?" I heard someone speak. I turned, hearing it from downstairs. "My trigger finger is getting itchy" OK, that's too obvious. I turned the light off, grabbing the pistol and charging it.

"Hawk, shut it. You're gonna give us away" a second voice spoke. I walked slowly down the stairs, crouching down and doing the best I could to stay silent. The stairs barely made a sound as my boots touched them, almost like I was a ghost.

"Eagle"

"No words, Hawk" I heard a pistol charge. "He's near"

I got to the bottom of the stairs, seeing an archway to the right with a bit of space for cover near it, instinctively hugging the wall. So there were at least two of them. If this turns into a firefight, I'm already at a disadvantage. Only real one I have is that I'm not using a light, so I don't need to rely on the flashes of the gun barrels as they fire to pinpoint where they are.

"What's the plan?"

"Clean kill, one to the head or heart if we can help it" I looked out slightly, seeing two figures in the darkness. I froze in place, not so much out of fear, but letting my eyes adjust to the new shapes. Two figures, that was for sure, and they were aiming at the doorway. I breathed, crouching down and relaxing, knowing what was coming.

Thank god I knelt. I noticed a flash as I ducked, blinking twice in order to try and figure out what it was. The two figures...were training dummies, covered in Imperial armor. It was a trap, that much is certain, just not the trap I thought it was. I stood up, holding the gun over my arm and moving into the room, surveying the area.

It was a large cellar complex, plenty of room, plenty of boxes, plenty of pillars and such to hide behind. I found myself both drowning in dust and fanning away cobwebs as I walked, my foot occasionally stepping into a puddle of something, my presumption being it was just water.

The conversation continued. I looked over at the pair, seeing a tape player between the two, sighing as I walked slowly and carefully over, grabbing a pistol from the hand of one of the pair, checking it over. It was rusted over more then King Arthur has dirt over him. I looked at the tape player once more, seeing the buttons and pressing the stop button.

Something moved from my eye corner, my reaction to aim my pistol over at it quickly, seeing a glint of steel. I flipping the old pistol in my hand, throwing it full force over towards it, hearing a thud and a clink. I smiled.

"You know, if your trying to hide from someone, you're doing a crap job of it" I told them, grabbing the second rusty pistol.

"Who say's I'm trying to hide?" A rough female voice spoke.

I heard a pistol charge, blinking once before diving behind a pillar, shards of the stone work flying off around me. Whoever this was was aiming at my right side, my gun hand, firing...four shots? OK, so three left in the clip if it's a Valk. I swung out as the gunfire stopped, quickly aiming my gun and firing back, unleashing three bullets in quick succession.

It was a woman, early 20's, sorta mid length hair. Couldn't tell anything else in the light, never mind the fact that she hid behind a metal crate to avoid the gun fire. She held a second gun up over as she hid, blind firing where I was, my reaction making me move cover as well, heading to the next pillar, flinging the rusty gun behind me, hearing it splash loudly in a puddle.

I heard her change two clips, two pistols blasting at the cover behind where I was before. She'd taken the bait. I took the clip out as silently as I could, putting it into my pocket and grabbing a new one, placing it into the gun. She stopped firing, the sounds of her climbing over the metal box ringing around as she ran to the opposite side of the pillar I was on. Perfect, she fell for it.

"Not gonna hold forever meat bag" She spoke, swinging her pistol out and firing a few more shots. I grabbed her arm, yanking her forward and tripping her up. She landed harshly on her front, me moving quickly to point my gun at her.

"Do you give?" I asked her. She smiled, giving me a somewhat evil grin.

"Not gonna happen short stuff" She quickly kicked my gun out of my hand, rolling around and pointing a pistol at me. I was knocked off balance by the kick, tripping left and dodging a bullet flying by my head.

I swung my leg out, smashing it into her pistol, sending it flying across the room as we collided. I kept the momentum going, slamming my other leg into her hand as she began to raise her other pistol, sending that flying as well. She moved quickly, grabbing my foot and twisting it, dragging me down, landing with a thud in a puddle. She moved fast, crawling up to my back. I span around, grabbing her shoulder and pinning her to the ground below me, my hands on her shoulders, gritting my teeth as she fought against me, trying to push me off.

"Game over" I told her, breathing a few times. She stopped struggling, looking around as she tried to find some sort of escape from this situation. "So...you giving up or do I have to get serious?"

"I thought you were already. I was just warming up" She admitted, sighing. "But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve"

"Like what?"

"You got a partner?"

"No, why do y-"

She moved her arms up, putting them around the back of my neck and pulling me down, lifting her head up at the same time and capturing my lips with hers, closing her eyes at the same time. My eyes opened wide with shock and surprise. She was even exploring the my lips with her tongue. I pushed away, escaping from her and letting her go, shaking my head.

Before my mind could compute anything, she threw a fist at my gut, winding me as I hunched forward. She then attempted to throw another fist to my chin, getting a shoulder in the way as I moved quickly, her hand barely going over my hair. I recovered quickly, wiping my chin and throwing a fist down, somehow colliding with a fresh punch from her.

My fist erupted in agony as we met, both of us shaking them as we pulled them back, quickly moving to throw a second punch. I found myself suddenly facing right with my cheek in a lot of pain, with my hand feeling something soft. We both groaned, myself falling over backwards, my legs still either side of her chest.

Silence fell, broken only by the our breathing and the occasional drip. We were both panting a lot, both in pain from the fight. We hadn't even been fighting that long, that's the worst bit. I felt her moving, moving my head slightly to see her moving her back to a pillar, blood running from the side of her mouth. I felt a burning sensation running from my left eye...odd considering she never hit that.

"You're good...I'll give you that...considering we didn't fight that long" She told me. I lifted myself slowly up, kneeling on the ground, cracking my neck and massaging my fist.

"You don't get around without a backup skill" I told her, pushing myself up to stand.

"Right" She pushed herself up, which I didn't do anything to actually stop. We both took a stance once more, both of us ready to go again.

She led the charge, with myself counter charging her. Both of us throwing our fist out, both colliding with the others chest, following it up quickly with a kick. She jumped up, doing a spinning kick at my head, only I did a leg sweep, dodging and missing her due to the actions. I kept the momentum, running to an upper cut as she slammed her fist down.

I met her chin, she met my shoulder. Neither of us recoiled from this, only using it to fuel our next punches, both of us kicking at each other, our shins meeting in the air. I backed up a bit, letting her step forward. She threw another punch, this time I grabbed it, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, pushing her forward against a pillar, slamming her head against the brick work, hearing her cry out. I kept on twisting her arm, throwing a fist to her back.

"Just give up already" I told her. She laughed, I raised an eyebrow, barely noticing what she was doing. She somehow ran her feet up the wall, flipping over my head and swapping our positions, pushing me against the pillar and locking my arm into place. I felt my face shred against the brick, gritting my teeth as I felt the blood start properly.

"Is that all you've got?" she asked me. She moved her head closer to my shoulder, so I used my free arm, elbowing her face hard, causing her to release me and recoil away. I followed up, running at her and punching her in the chest. Se recoiled once more, and I paused, catching my breath, still watching her. She turned to me slowly, wiping blood from her nose. I did the same, smiling.

This was starting to get fun. The rush, the excitement. Whoever this girl is, she's brought this out of me.

"Come on then" She told me, taking her stance again. "Bring it"

"Ladies first!" I shouted back at her, swinging my arm down. She smirked, running at me once more, swinging her fist low. I charged her back, swinging my fist high. Both our feet echoing as we stamped our way full pelt at each other. We both yelled as loud as out lungs would allow.

Her fist collided with my chest, as my fist collided with her head. My head was thrown skyward as hers was thrown to the side, both of us freezing in place as the moment went, no noise whatsoever, save for the odd drop and whatever came from upstairs.

We finally reacted, both of us stepping back a few times, her falling over backwards as she tripped on a barrel, myself taking a few steps, stopping then falling to one knee. Both of us were breathing heavily, barely moving from where we were.

"Fuck...I feel...like I...just had sex" She commented. I raised my head, turning to her.

"I don't know...what your sex life is like...but if that's how you feel after it...something's fucking wrong" I told her, smirking through the heavy breathing.

"I just...love the rush...from battle" She slowly moved her arms, pushing herself up and looking at me, wiping blood from her mouth. "You gotta little.." she pointed to her mouth. I blinked twice, wiping my mouth, seeing the small trail of blood spread on my hand.

"Thanks..." I breathed a few times, looking at her, seeing her starting to lose her balance. I could feel mine going at the same time. "OK...maybe we... should have a break..."

I fell over backwards at this, and heard her doing the same. My vision slowly but surely blurred, until all was black...

* * *

_I don't know who she is...I didn't know I could fight that well._

_Scarily...it was fun as well..._

_To just... let loose like that...let everything go and just fight._

_Hell...getting matched blow for blow...it really made me feel better...aside from the out cold part._


	36. The Expeditionaries

WARNING: this chapter is very speech heavy.

Let's see how this one goes...

* * *

Chapter 36:

Expeditionaries.

_For what it's worth...I never expected a lot of what happened._

_The Tavern was one thing, I was expecting a quiet conversation_

_not a fight in an underground area._

_Whoever these guys are...they are big business._

"...looks like he's coming to" I heard someone speak, my vision slowly returning as I registered light.

"About bloody time" A second voice spoke. I put a hand to my forehead as I slowly got up, hearing a beeping in the background. Was I in a hospital or something? The Ceiling was the standard tiling, nothing fancy at all. I saw the walls, seeing them in a black wood of some sort. Most likely painted that way. To my right was the wall with a window open, showing a forest scene, the sun shining down upon the trees. I saw a heart monitor as well.

"Took you long enough to wake back up" I heard a male voice speak. I turned to my left, seeing a young man, early 20's with a trimmed beard, sporting numerous scars all over his face and his short brown hair having been burnt to it's current level. He was wearing a dark shirt with a holster on his side for a pistol, along with leather trousers and boots. His eyes were dark, with scars narrowly around the pair.

"You are?"

"I'll tell you later" his voice was calm, relaxed, but betrayed his age. He was older then he looked, and it was rough as hell. "Thought I might as well start this out properly for once"

"What the hell do you mean by that?" he grabbed a chair, pulling it alongside the bed and leaning on the back.

"Not everyday we look for recruits, but a lot of the guys were taken down" He cracked his neck at this point, and I swung my legs out of bed. "That and you're the son of two legends of the battlefield"

"Don't go that far" I put a hand on the back of my neck, rubbing it to relieve some tension. "How long have I been out?"

"12 hours...don't worry, I've told Varrot, she understands and will tell your squad something to cover your ass" I smirked, breathing a few times.

"Guess they won't mind me missing training for a bit then...whats the excuse? Can't handle my drink?"

"More then likely"

"If I'm like this now, imagine what I'd be like after sleeping with a girl" He laughed at this point, slapping his leg as he did so. "What's with her anyway? Didn't expect a fight on my hands"

"Well, you see we needed to deal with the new guys and see what your like in battle in different then normal circumstances. Gotta say, not using the light is different then normal...everyone straps it to their pistols and fights like that" I nodded.

"Natural skills" He nodded a few times, looking around.

"So...might as well get to work. Corporal Craig Appleby of Squad 7 Regiment 3" I raised an eyebrow, slowly nodding. "One of the few who've undertaken a stealth mission behind enemy lines. Was interesting to read about that one"

"I'm that important..."

"Any soldier who can get a job done is important. Especially in this outfit" He held his hands out. "Be they Militia or Central" I should feel half honored at that. "Seeing how you did both last night and how you yourself did during Operation Cloudburst, my group has decided to offer you a job"

"A job...that's all you wanted to ask me about...a job" he nodded as I spoke. "You're telling me that you want to give me a job...when I'm fighting on the frontline in the Militia"

"Oh, this won't break you off of that" He stood up, pushing the chair to one side and offering me a hand. "Come on...take a walk with me"

He turned around, walking to a doorway and leaning against it, crossing his arms as he waited for me. I let myself up, getting out of the bed and standing, losing my balance slightly but recovering it quickly, rubbing my forehead. I looked myself over, seeing my old clothes still on me, but with a cast around my leg and on my hands, and I could feel a plaster on my mouth. My leg wasn't in much pain...but the cast was making me limp.

I walked slowly but carefully over to where the guy was, the man turning his head and walking out of the room, ushering me to follow him. He led me through corridors that wouldn't look out of place in one of those old castles that have been modernized...well, I say modernized but you know what I mean. At the top were the old castle blocks but the sides were tiles and things like that. The windows were even arrow slits and proper windows. The lights were electrical which was good considering how it could have been, and the doors were the proper modern wood. He led me down a few corridors, pointing at some doors along the way.

"Welcome to base" he told me, walking slowly ahead. "You've been in our Medical wing, up to date with state of the art equipment from over the globe" That's nice to know I guess. "Over there is our Armory, filled with a mix of modern, experimental and effective weapons and ammo" He pointed to a second. "There's the Training room, with enough to train anyone in any martial skill, from fire arms, to Combat arts, to simple things like starting fires to arming TNT" SIMPLE THINGS? How is arming TNT simple when I'm never taught this kind of thing in the Militia? Heck, I don't think the Engineers are taught how to arm. They get taught to defuse, but that's about it.

"Moving on we have a spare barracks, in case we have to stay here overnight for a multiple day Op" OK, this is getting bloody ridiculous.

"Look mate, I have no idea why you're giving me the old Sales crap, but I'm not going to do anything if I don't know what the hell you're advertising to me or indeed who the hell you are" I stopped where I was, matey boy stopping where he was as well. "Look, you gotta work with me here. I can somewhat guess what you're trying to do, but unless you give me something to actually work with, I am no way interested. All you're succeeding in doing is pushing me away due to not knowing a fecking thing" He sighed, nodding a few times, turning to me after a few seconds.

"So you're saying...that you'd be more willing to listen and join if I told you what I was trying to drag you into?" I nodded.

"No one walks into the Lion's den blind" I told him. He crossed his arms, brushing his almost-a-beard with his hand, his brow furrowed in thought.

"I see...I see..." He smiled, giving me a toothy grin. "Nice to know you keep that instinct about you, even here" He uncrossed his arms, blinking twice. "Well then, let's get this over with" He took on the old army stance, giving me a salute in...well, I liken the Militia and such using the American Style. He Used the British style. "Commander Siegfried Tialest, Call sign Altiesen, of the Gallian Expeditionary forces" What? The Gallians have a force that operates in foreign countries? Fat chance. "We fight the war Gallia Can't, doing the jobs too hard for the army in the shadows" I raised an eyebrow, shaking my head.

"We do the jobs the army can't...by?" I asked, putting a hand on my forehead.

"Some jobs the army are too big for. Know what I mean?" I shook my head. "An army kinda stands out...but a small group can get in and out without making much of a nuisance" oh god...I think I know what he means.

"It's a stealth unit" I surmised. He nodded, smiling. "We're a bloody stealth unit"

"The best funded one on the continent" He seemed too proud when saying that...well considering so far it seems like the ONLY stealth unit on the continent. And then I don't think Stealth Units broadcast their existence to the world and their mothers so for all we know the rest of the world has a unit each. "Infiltration, assassination, demolition, recon, abduction, rescue, the list goes of what we can do" Joy. So they want me to join a group that fight behind enemy lines doing jobs quietly...because?

"OK, so where do I fit in?" He sighed at this part.

"I presume you've heard about Fouzen...and indeed Vasel and Bruhl" I raised an eyebrow at this point.

"Yeah. Who hasn't? Fouzen fell to the Imperials as did Vasel and Bruhl...well Vasel until my Squad came along" He nodded. "Why do you point them out?"

"We lost your mother in a job in Fouzen...and we needed two other recruits to fill up positions left open by members of our team being killed by the Imperials..." he put his hand in front of his face. "Eagle and Hawk...you heard them from the recording...and Stahl was taken captive...we presume now working the Darcsen mines..." I sighed nodding a few times.

"Well... I guess as part of this I need to ask this..." I looked at him, dead center in his eye. He looked straight back at me. "You had the choice between me and my brother, along with countless others in Gallia...Why me? Why not bring James in? He's done the lone wolf act more"

"I was expecting that..." He admitted, turning around and leaning against a windowsill. "Doesn't make it any easier to answer knowing it was coming" I crossed my arms, leaning against a wall.

"Well..." He sighed, turning slowly around.

"We need the best of the best. James is indeed a good sniper, but he is held back by his inability to follow orders. He may get back in line, but we need recruits now, not May" Point taken there. "As for you over half of Gallia...You've got your mother's blood. Not to mention you've done what we do before, when infiltrating Vasel's East Bank" again, point taken. "To be honest, we're desperate" Charming... "We normally work with around six or seven members, and this war had dragged us down to three right now, including myself"

"So this was literally a desperation thing" he shook his head at this point.

"No. No it wasn't...best way to put it is that it's more an opportunity" an Opportunity for what? "Hawk, Stahl and Eagle...while we'll never be able to replace them, we have a chance to find new talent, new skills, new expertise" Wait, wait. I'm going to guess his next line, as I think I've heard this sales pitch before. 'Now is the time for the Expeditionary forces to foster the Next Generation of Gallia's soldiers' "Now is the time for the Expeditionary forces to foster the Next Generation of Gallia's Soldiers" Beer please. I'm feeling frosty. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, putting it in his mouth and flicking open a lighter hidden in his sleeve, lighting the stick. He took a small drag, lowering it and looking away from me as he exhaled. "So far...we've had only five people we're interested in...and you're the last of my potential recruits today. Already taken on two others"

"Oh, so it's a straight three then..."

"Well...kinda" He pulled his fag out of his mouth with two fingers, tapping the end and letting the ash hit the ground. "Gonna be honest with you. Over the years we've found that around six is the sweet spot with our numbers. Never go above seven and you get a good effective team, especially if they are in different fields. You were shocktrooper number two by the way" he put the fag back in, moving it to one end of his mouth. "Anything else you want to ask or can we carry on the tour?" I shook my head.

"I don't really care about this tour..." See if you can guess where this is going. "I just...want to know where I sign" he raised an eyebrow, nodding a few times. I kinda knew I wanted to do this. Hell, they thought I could, and if it helped...I'd gladly join.

"Follow me"

I'll spare you some of the details, as it pretty much was him leading me down corridor after corridor after corridor, passing some rooms filled with either weapons, training objects or general files. Only thing that was out of place was the bed room, and then that was because there was actually nine of them instead of one for twenty or so people. At one point a young man walked along side him, passing him a clipboard with a piece of paper on it. I couldn't catch the conversation, but I heard bits and pieces. Operation Desert Shield or something like that. Sounded like the Imperials were up to something.

We came to a large oaken door, complete with iron bands to keep the wood in line and bolted in place. A large black iron hoop for a handle, big enough for me to get my hand through. And I wouldn't be surprised it had been used as a hula hoop as some point. Siegfried grabbed the handle, twisting it and pushing the door slowly open, the creak of steel and wood issued forth from it as it slowly moved. I heard the clash of steel on steel as it opened.

"Are you two fighting again?" He asked as he held the door open to let me in. I walked in first, looking around and seeing a pair fighting each other with what I can only describe as poles. I looked around, Siegfried moving to break them up as I did so. On the walls were a multitude of maps of various sections of Gallia, each labeled with troop movements within the sector, a large red section representing the Imperials I can safely presume. Just about every single map had a crosshatched pattern over Gallian land showing where the Imperials had marched and taken, with only our side of the river being white. It's kinda...ominous, looking at it like this. We've somehow still got hold of the south near Lanseal and Melvere, most likely due to the Barious Desert not being the best place to send an army across. Kinda reminds me of the Quttara depression in Egypt...will never be crossed. HAH! Take that Empire.

One of the big things I noticed was on a different wall, behind a large table set with a map and some models, was a wall set with pictures and hanging Dog Tags. I walked over to them, looking over the numerous sets, some rusted beyond all recognition. I looked up and down the wall, finding at least twenty five sets. I placed one in my hand, lifting it up and giving it a closer look.

_Stephan 'Hawk' Estaban. Sniper. Service: 12th, March, 1935. KIA 19th March 1935 Operation Door Stop. May the Valkyrur Guide his soul to the Aether._

_Age: 25_

He died too young. I looked at another, looking over the details once more, running my thumb over it to get some of the rust off.

_Lazarus 'Eagle' Estaban. Shocktrooper. Service: 12th March 1935. KIA March 1935 Operation Trench Foot. May the Valkyrur Guide his soul to the Aether_

_Age: 22_

Brothers... I saw another one, this one even rustier then the others, obviously having been used a lot longer then the others. It was dented, along with having marks where bullets must have gone through it. I raised an eyebrow as I read it.

_Karen 'Stahl' Appleby. Service: 3rd September 1903. Golden lance of Gallia awarded 6th November 1909. Departed active service: December. Returned: 12th March, 1935. MIA presumed captured April 1st, 1935. Operation Under Mine. Scout._

"Kinda harrowing ain't it kid?" the female voice from last night spoke. I turned, now seeing her in a good light...so to speak. Short brown hair with a clean face, tall with a tank top and jeans...however the hell they exist in this world at this time, torn all the way up to her thighs. Two gun holsters on her side, both holding Valkyrur models. Her eyes were closed at this point. She was leaning against the wall, one foot on it, arms crossed. "Knowing that people this young are dying..." I looked away before nodding, sighing.

"It's war...and this kind of thing will happen" I admitted, almost coldly. "Least I can do is try my best to stay alive and save everyone I can" She looked to one side, moving her left hand in a dismissive manner.

"You starting to sound like a crappy hero type" She told me, looking coldly at me. "Listen kid, heroes only exist in stories and in games. They don't exist in real life. You got it?" I nodded.

"I know...can't stop me wanting to act like that eh?" I turned to her, smiling. "So what do I call you then? Don't think 'bitch' suits right now" she turned away.

"Call me what you will. I can't give a damn considering...but everyone calls me Revy" Revy huh? Entertaining. "What about you meatbag?"

"Hah hah. Nice to know you haven't lost your humor..." I turned to her. "Name's Craig...take it you have a weird sex life based on last night" She blushed, looking away and scratching at her cheek with one finger.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah" She looked back at me, giving me a kinda half arsed look. "Let's...erm...forget I said that...right?"

"Craig, Revy, you two done chatting back there?" Siegfried asked. We turned to him, seeing him giving us a salute, now three other people in the room. One had a pole in one hand resting on her shoulder, one was sat in a chair, arms crossed, and the third was leaning against a wall. "If you guys are done chatting, we might as well get to know one another" I nodded, so did Revy, walking over to him. "Right...so, seeing as we had issues with you Miss, you start us off"

"Oh man...fine" the pole-d one started, sighing as she span the pole in her hand. "What d'ya wanna know boss man?"

"Name, rank, serving in, age" She nodded, giving us a salute across her chest.

"The name's Silven Eradora. I'm a Master Sergeant in Regiment 2, squad 5, as a Scout. 18 years old with a brother in Regiment 1" OK, bit late for explanations, but she's actually not a bad looker in my eyes. Long green hair down her back, and blue eyes. Small scar on her right cheek and a moderate chest. Her clothing consists of pretty much normal clothes. A blue shirt unbuttoned to show a small amount of cleavage, the emblem of the Gallian army on the right sleeve, Fingerless gloves, combat trousers akin to those from the Militia and just...shoes. Nothing fancy, just shoes. Just gonna say it now, she is FIT! Tall, not too thin but not too big, nice pair if you know what I mean. Her voice was fair, calm and I could sense an accent of sorts. Must be a Gallian subaccent or something, I don't know.

"Aren't you bozos meant to be deployed in the south?" Revy asked. Silven turned to her, nodding.

"Yes, but we get deployed around the North due to the Empire headed straight for Randgriz as opposed to Lanseal" She sighed at this point, crossing her arms but putting her elbow on her hand, holding her chin. "Only problem is Yuell was hit. We barely held the front line. Thankfully we blew the bridges once friendlies were clear, so anything south of that is safe. Vasel became the front line after that" Oh, so her regiment is why we were outmatched at Vasel for a time. "I hear Damon got real mad after I set up the charge"

"Oddly he recommended you to us..." Siegfried spoke, smiling. "His exact words were 'this bitch doesn't know how to deal with authority. She'll be perfect for you and your misfits'" Silven rolled her eyes at this.

"Yeah, like I give a fuck what he thinks. He abandoned us as soon as the battle started. Gave command to my boss and fled faster then a Camelopard on heat" Camelopard? Wha? Siegfried laughed at this point.

"That's the Damon I know...thanks anyway Miss Era-"

"It's Silven Damn it!"

"Yes...erm. Thank you Silven" He looked away quickly, obviously unnerved by Silven's line. Siegfried, if this is your elite, you're in trouble yourself. "So, moving to you"

"Elias Martinique, Regiment 2 squad 9" now I remember something about squad 9. they are Volunteers from Lanseal, students. Volunteers is one way to put it considering that the students volunteer for the front line when they could stay back and learn. "Aptitude tests have designated me as a Lancer, age 20"

"I'd heard you were set as a Scout" Silven spoke. Elias scratch the back of his head in reply.

"I got into both, but majority of the time I'm a scout to keep the heat off of my Sis in the combat zone. For what it's worth, I'm good at both." Again, late explanation. He has black hair which is cut unneatly, almost as if he did it himself with a knife. He's currently wearing a black jacket to go with his white shirt and trousers, with just plain boots. On his right arm is a bracelet thing, with both a watch and a picture on it. Family I presume. "Besides, I can do more on the front then I can sniping. Too impatient for all that aiming malarky" Brash, confident, tall and he appears to be strong and fit...almost a perfect trooper...so why is he a scout? "'sides, you'll get to meet my sis"

"I don't need you to talk for me Elias" the girl next to him spoke, sighing afterward. We all turned to her, seeing her wearing a trench coat, hiding a young girl wearing a pair of jeans with an almost dress looking top, cut at just below the shoulders all the way across the top. She had long red hair, a clean face, but didn't look too strong. OK, I'm male when I say this, nice pair on her. Seems we've gotten three nice ladies.

"Take it your Ruby eh?" Ruby? What? Siegfried put his hand on her shoulder as he spoke. "About time you left that singers job"

"Boss, only reason I started there was because you wouldn't let me start here until my 18th. And now I find out you've admitted a 16 year old" she looked at me, giving me half a scowl. What the hell did I do wrong?

"Times are more desperate then before" the old man admitted, taking his hand off and walking away. "But come on, may as well follow the same idea" Ruby sighed. "Besides, the Application you made was before the war actually began"

"Right, right, I get'cha" She did a small salute. "Ruby Matinique, Regiment 2 squad 10" More Volunteers from Lanseal, but a second wave of them. "I'm a scout sniper, but I have experience with every weapon aside from LANCAARs, 18 years old and still going" her voice was beautiful, I'll give her that. Matched her looks as well. "I'm a graduate from Lanseal academy" phew, fancy.

"Ah, so a Lanseal fancy ass eh?" Revy spoke, rubbing under her nose. "Hear that place gives you a real nice training. How'd you do for class and Laevatein?" Ruby looked away, breathing, blushing.

"Class D...we won Laevatein hands down" Lanseal runs it's own internal tournament. Where every class from A to G fight it out in training battles to win the cup, and the military use both the class and the results when deciding on ranks upon recruitment. Apparently it's almost a guarantee of an officer job if your a class A student and win the cup. Revy was raising an eyebrow at this, whistling.

"That's a fancy skill set you have there" She nodded a few times.

"Well what about you, baby? What makes you so special?" Elias asked. I turned to Revy, seeing her giving an almost evil smirk.

"Revy Moonbeam" She pulled a pistol out, spinning it on the finger. "24 and a freelancer...I think you'd call me a specialist"

"Specialist in what?" Revy stopped the gun spinning, barely moving her gaze as she emptied the clip around the young man, the casings hitting the ground before we all realized what had happened. Revy smiled, an imprint in the wall behind Elias where the bullets flew by his head. I blinked twice, turning slowly to her as we all looked at her after seeing the marks.

"What are you?" I asked. She pulled a cigarette from her pocket, placing it in her mouth before pulling the lighter from her pocket and lighting it up, not a care in the world evident on her face.

"I stand in the darkness..." she spoke, taking a drag before pulling the fag out, exhaling a small cloud of smoke before putting her gun away. "And before this is over...so will you" She looked at me, giving me a very cold look, freezing me to my core. I stood there, mouth hanging open as she replaced the smoke. "You gonna watch me all day..." I blinked twice, shaking my head before turning to the others.

"Craig Alex Appleby. 16 and a shock trooper in Regiment 3 Squad 7" they all looked at me more intently as I said this. "I've been out the country since my father passed on, along with my brother as we wanted to see the world. But we came back in time to help with the fight" Ruby raised an eyebrow at me, nodding a few times.

"The Son of Karen and Ted of EW1?" she asked. I nodded, getting her to instantly run over and grab my hand. Her face was an almost clear indication that she had entered 'fan mode'...who was I? All of Linkin Park in one man? "Oh my gosh! I can't believe I'm meeting one of the children of two legends! What's Ted like? Is it true Karen was a scout? What happened to your dad? Are you hoping to follow in their footsteps?"

The questions came almost as fast as a machine gun could fire. I swallowed, my eyes open wide as I suddenly felt like a movie star. She didn't even stop, the questions still came thick and fast. After like a minute of this, Elias eventually stood up, walking over to his sister and dragging her off of me.

"Sorry bro. EW1 is kinda a major topic at Lanseal, with your parents being quite famous for what they did" He told me, lifting up a kicking, punch and screaming Ruby and carrying her away. "Honor to meet you by the way" I just raised a hand, shocked at this sudden outburst. My parents were that famous?

"You're gonna make us proud kid" Revy spoke, patting my back. "Show us who your the son of"

No pressure apparently.

"Knock it off" Siegfried told the guys. I looked around, sighing. "Right, combat training, 5 minutes at the firing range. Get to work"

_All that to come to this._

_It sounds like a bloody waste of time_

_but then...it was doing something for Gallia_

_who was I to turn it down._


	37. -THIS- is normal

I said I'd flip between this, FIW and HAC (look at my profile, you'll get the acronyms) but, so far, I've done the 2 for FIW and haven't been able to get a third. HAC I'm going to have to go back and do two on my return run...well, it's not a main so it could just be one. And this...well...I'm back now and I need to get to work because I'm on probably my favorite section in my plan...

OK, I'm not one for doing emotes during these, but :D I CAN'T WAIT!

also, I got looking over the chapter in the tavern...why did I do so many similes with the church and religion?

Anyway, moving on.

Chapter 37:

-THIS- is normal?

_There's always some kind of training involved in the military in general_

_it doesn't matter if it's Militia, Regulars, Volunteers, Lanseal or Infiltration._

_That stigma of training follows you in it's many forms, from normal to extraordinary_

_And when it comes to the Expedition...a lot of it isn't normal._

OK...Remind me to check the training routines before I sign up for anything from now on. And that's saying something considering I haven't really complained about the Militia's training routines and they are tough enough. Oh, I'm not saying that these are hard but they are...erm...diverse?

Let me get this back into context for you...of all training routines, we had been sent out into the castle courtyard. Seeing as we were signing up, Siegfried had told us where it was. Castle Gray skull...if only. This place was a remnant from the Medieval ages Gallia, a place called the Raven's Nest, after it's owner was killed by many ravens. Yeah, I'd hope Modern Gallians have more sense then that when it comes to naming places, as I'd hate to be the owner of a castle and killed in some kind of embarrassing circumstance. 'Jack in the box spring boing into eye castle' doesn't sound as interesting. It's halfway between Lanseal and Vasel, just out the way enough to be secluded, but close enough to civilization to be local.

We'd been set up to do a simple wargame. We'd each been given an unnamed and unfamiliar pistol loaded with Marker rounds...basically Paintballs. They were more for advance Recon teams to mark out targets for Artillery crews and naval bombardment teams when they couldn't see. It was a good alternative to smoke grenades, given the age and smoke grenades don't exist yet as far as I know anyway.

So, the idea was we were to sneak around the courtyard, with various obstacles from statues of the owner weathered from years of misuse, to crates and barrels, along with wooden building hastily built in order to simulate a base of sorts. We all had 3 clips spare, each loaded with 5 'bullets'. We had to sneak around, doing our best to keep quiet and keep hidden. If we got someone in our sights, we could take a shot with a head shot and chest shot being a kill, and arms needing two. Last man standing wins.

So, as I crawled my way through the undergrowth and the tall grass near a base, I heard some movement coming from the right, out of the alleyway behind a building. I stopped moving, getting as low to the ground as possible, holding my breath as I lowered my pistol, making sure no light would reflect off it.

"Gotta come out some time" I heard Revy whisper, keeping low as she walked, both pistols in her hands as she swept her gaze around, trying to find someone in her area. "Sons of bitches...Where the fuck are you?"

"Yo, Akimbo!" Silven shouted. Revy swung around, aiming her pistols as quick as she could, firing off two shots before her face became coated in yellow paint. I could see through the paint that she wasn't the happiest bunny in the world under all of that stuff, hearing her grunt and shake her head.

"You bitch!" She shouted, wiping the paint off her face.

"Next time, keep the noise down. I could hear you whispering a mile away. Surprised the others haven't found you"

"Yeah, about that" I heard Elias speak. Silven turned, then darting into the alley as the wall next to her became coated crimson. Revy took this opportunity to get out the way, running away from the 'gunfire'.

"I thought Alliances weren't allowed!" Silven shouted back, walking backwards until she was besides me, then putting the pistol to my back. "Not as good as you thought hotshot"

"Terrific" I whispered back, raising my hands up as I started standing up.

"Well, they aren't disallowed" Ruby replied. Silven quickly tapped my shoulder, holding her hand out as I looked at her, seeing her winking.

"Two's better then one...and your the wild card here" She offered. I smiled, shaking her hand and moving behind the building. "So what? You two decide to be the last two standing and then have a one on one to decide who wins?" She pointed me to a bush behind the building I was at, as she snuck around the one she was on. I nodded, moving slowly and going behind the bush. Remind me to- stay on subject. "Keep it down...and keep hidden" I nodded, pulling back on the slide on my pistol, seeing the ball inside ready to fly, letting the slide go.

"Well, what makes you think we're going to do that? At least one of us is going to be shot out"

"Most likely Elias"

"Sis..."

"It's true...anyway" At this point Silven had disappeared, and I could hear footsteps to my right from the alley, holding my breath as I heard someone breathing. "Come on, I didn't Graduate from Lanseal to lose here" Ruby appeared around the corner, looking around, throwing her aim both sides as she looked for me and Silven, staring straight at me before moving on. Was I that well hidden. "I've got the honor of Lanseal to think of"

"What honor?" Silven replied. I could hear her laugh even though she had moved away. "I'm still moving on in the world...following someone who could somewhat show me the way to pick my best moments" was that supposed to be a hint? I took it as such, moving slowly out of my hiding spot, looking around the corner and not seeing Elias anywhere nearby. "Of course knowing how things are, my path leads to trouble these days...well, it's nice to know I'm not the only one walking around"

I didn't really pay attention to the rest of the conversation, doing what I could to stay hidden as I followed an overeager Ruby. She was moving quickly, her footsteps hiding the sounds of my own as I stepped on the overgrown grass, with her on the stone. I didn't really pay attention to what was being said, but I know the pair were still chatting to one another, Silven taunting Ruby judging on how things were looking.

Eventually, I saw Ruby aiming, as I hid behind a disused fountain. She then dived behind cover as paint balls came flying through the air, hitting the wall just in front of me. I dived as it hit, seeing Ruby turning quickly. My breath was baited, my hand shaking with anticipation. I would either be found and shot or not and get a clean hit on her.

"When all is said and done...There's always one missing" Silven spoke. I heard Ruby's footsteps near me, shaking my head as I darted up, swinging my arm around to fire a shot at her, the 'bullet' hitting her arm as she jumped behind cover.

"I thought no alliances!" Ruby yelled, as I heard gunfire from Silven's position.

"He's my wildcard...you two formed one, so I improvised!" Silven replied. Ruby tutted, jumping up and firing three shots at me, the trio somehow missing me barely as I crawled around.

"Was wondering where he'd gotten to!" Elias shouted. "Yo Appleby, you still kicking in this?"

"Yeah! Watched Moon get iced by Eradora! If not for you two forcing her towards me I'd have Plastered Eradora myself!" I yelled back, checking my pistol once more to remind myself what I was on...don't ask.

"Ouch! Sorry to steal your thunder on that one!" I darted up, firing a quick bullet at Ruby, watching her roll out of the way and fire a bullet back, feeling it impact on my left arm, splattering my clothing crimson as I dived.

"I'll make it up to you Elias...!" I shouted back, swinging my body over the fountain wall, my feet landing in the murky waters as I ran quickly to Ruby's position, jumping over her and firing a few shots off, hitting her shoulder and head with what was left of the clip, watching her shake her head as she became coated in green. I landed behind her, slipping my finger over the clip release and letting it fall to the ground. "Kill Confirmed!"

"Son of a bitch!" Ruby yelled, turning to me. "That shouldn't have worked and was so frickin' stupid" I turned around, grabbing a new clip from my belt and shoving it in, charging my pistol.

"There's an old military law you should pay heed to" I told her, sliding behind the fountain once more. "If an idea is stupid but works...it isn't stupid" ah Murphy. Gotta love that law. Ruby gritted her teeth, walking out of the area, away from where I knew Silven was. "Eradora! Martinique! It's us three left!"

"Sorry Elias!"

"Didn't expect that outta ya, Appleby!" Elias shouted back. I heard a load more shots, followed by a groan. "Eradora!"

"Yeah, you know it" I heard a few clicks, and a slight giggle. "Appleby! One vee one, try and hide better then you did last time!" I smiled, walking closer towards her.

"Oh, I fancy a bit of straight up gun play" I replied, holding my gun in both of my hands, keeping it next to my head straight up.

"You do realize that your meant to be quiet right!?" we heard Siegfried speak over the ear pieces. "It's like I'm listening to two kids trying to sneak into a Lōs Óleáňs Concert" ….I'll ask later, more then likely a band judging on the concert part.

"Come on mate, we're going to have to know one another first time!" I shouted back.

"That's what she sai- OW!" Elias in the distance. Something tells me Revy and Ruby both slammed him in the ribs. I couldn't help but smile, shaking my head.

"Make it quick and clean. Next hit wins!"

Everything seemed to fall silent at this point, as I planted myself against a wall, moving slowly to the opening as I tried to find Silven. I poked my head around the corner, hearing a series of clicks before diving back, seeing three splatters of paint on the fountain in front of me. Dang that was close. I could just sense the others doing that 'ooo' thing. I looked around, trying to find some way of getting around this.

"Let me put it this way boyo" Silven spoke, as I saw a dimly lit barn nearby, with an opening at the courtyard Silven was using, and the door at a safe angle. "You think your getting me, then I suggest you think twice"

"Oh, I think I can get you...something tells me I'll be able to" I replied, smiling. May as well try and work at picking at Silven's paranoid side. I grabbed a stone by my feet, starting to run from the wall and throwing it towards a puddle to the right, making I was moving to Flank her, but instead moving over to the door from early.

"You working that out from your family bloodline?" I didn't answer, instead going into the barn and silently stepping on the wood and heading to the upstairs opening. I crouched as I neared it, holding my pistol low as I looked outside.

There she was, keeping an eye on the opening between the walls, waiting for me to come out and walk into her sights. She was hiding behind a couple of crates, the paint marking her left leg. I sighed, going down onto my chest and lining up the irons...wow, never knew how bad these things really were. I've played my fair share of shooters, so I can say I have an idea of what they look like...well, if they are realistic. Looking at this...god...how the hell do they aim these things straight? There's like blight all to line up with aside from one little iron on the end. Please don't tell me these are actually what we're going to be using...heck, I think the Valkyrur was better in comparison, even though the clip is the same size, albeit balls up...yeah I'm not laughing either.

"You gotta move at some point Appleby" Silven called, moving out of cover.

"I did" I called back, firing off a few shots, watching her turning quickly towards me then ducking under the bullets, rolling to one side before firing a quick volley at me. I rolled to one side, watching the wall behind me erupt in color. I fired off what remained of my clip as I rolled behind the wall, ejecting the clip and shoving in a new one. "Seems we're getting closer!"

"Well, nice to see you can sneak around at times" She replied. I could hear her pistol click as it was charged, chances are she could hear mine doing the same. "When did you turn into such a ghost?"

"Just lucky I guess" I checked my belt, finding one spare clip. I sighed, cracking my neck. "What you like for clips"

"One in, One out" I heard footsteps, poking my head around and seeing her moving. "What about you?" She moved closer to the opening, heading to the barn I was in slowly.

"Same...shame really, was starting to have some fun"

"Maybe we should do this again some time" I let her keep walking, watching her go around the side, heading for the door.

"Maybe do it with clothes we can clean eh?" I lowered myself down, grabbing the edge of the ledge and slowly lowering myself to the ground below, landing lightly and walking slowly around.

I don't think I'll last in a straight up confrontation, especially not with a regular. I was Militia without the training. I'd have to improvise, do something that a soldier wouldn't see coming. I moved silently, thinking as quickly as I could. I knew bits and pieces of tactics from the future, still feels weird saying that. For what it's worth, as revolutionary as they are compared to modern Gallian tactics...they won't be enough.

"Wait, what the hell's going on?" Elias asked over the earpieces silently. I heard a few 'hmm's followed by Revy speaking.

"Appleby's got'a plan" She replied.

"A militia against a regular...fifty ducats says she wins" Ruby spoke. I heard the shingle of coins.

"You're on" sounds like fun. Why can't I join in.

"Hey Moon, Rube. Are we allowed in on this bet?" Eradora asked over the radio. I heard sighs, followed by a table being hit.

"So it's fifty for the boy and hundred for the girl"

"Sis, put me down for fifty on Eradora" Elias pitched in, followed by more table bangs.

"so fifty for one fifty...you sure you can pay this Revy?"

"Easy as...just be ready to pay up when he wins" I sighed, putting a finger to my earpiece as I ran.

"Will you guys please shut up...you're not helping me out here" I told them. I heard a chuckle.

"Take it you want in Appleby" Siegfried asked. I raised my eyebrows, sighing.

"No spare ducats mate"

"Ruby, put me down for one hundred on Appleby" I stopped, raising my eyebrows higher.

"Wait, wha?" I'm sure everyone said at the exact same time as I ran for the shell of a halftrack. Should hide me enough.

"I've got faith in him" I heard a heavier bag of ducat being placed down. "If he wins...Appleby get's half my winnings...capiche?"

"Erm...sure..." Ruby spoke uncertainly. "So...one fifty both ways...gotta say Boss if Craig wins I'll sleep with him"

"Thanks for the motivation Ruby" I told her. Elias and Revy started laughing loudly, more then likely Ruby realizing the mic was still loud.

"Boss...turn the mic off please"

"Why? With such riveting conversation as this it might be better to let them hear it" I let the conversation carry on, shaking my head as I charged my pistol a second time...that's becoming a weird habit.

Splash. I turned quickly, holding the pistol tightly as I heard footsteps, turning off the earpiece for a time. I heard her climbing onto the half track, climbing the frame and standing on the ruined roof of the cab. My breath disappeared, swallowing as I waited to find out if she would find me or not. I closed my eyes, trying to relax, remove any audible trace of me if that made any sense.

"Your here somewhere Appleby" She spoke, jumping down from the cab onto the back of the vehicle, my grip tightening on my pistol as she did so. I heard her footsteps, felt them against my back, sensed her moving as she looked around for me. "Can't hide foreveer" Yeah, she even drew out the er. This was as close as I was going to get to surprising her. I needed to keep hidden and get her or she'd find me and I'd be done.

Why am I taking this so seriously? I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. It's...different from the fight with Revy. I get the whole fight or flight syndrome where you get adrenaline to run or fight. I've felt it before. But this...it's a whole 'nother ball park. So to speak anyway. I heard her jump off the back of the half track, sighing silently as I opened my eyes. The footsteps moving slowly away. I turned the earpiece back, hearing nothing but baited breathing as I moved to the edge.

"Appleby..." Silven spoke. She was still scanning when I saw her, turned away from me as I aimed at her. "You'll come out at some point"

"Yeah, I will" I told her, smiling as she turned quickly, seeing me as I fired off a quick volley. She raised her gun, firing as she got splattered, her paint round somehow missing me, I felt the round whiz by my hair, hearing it hit whatever it was behind me. I breathed a few times, seeing her wipe the second section.

"You bastard" I smiled, blowing on the end of the gun. "Stupidest plan, ever"

"If an idea is stupid but works, it ain't stupid"

"great...so fifty for Siegfried, Craig and Revy, right?" Ruby asked. I heard Revy chuckle.

"Told you you should be ready to pay" She spoke back.

"Drinks are on your three then" Siegfried continued. "Well, can't hurt to celebrate at times"

"Erm...Siegfried" I started, sighing. "This erm...training...what exactly are you training us for?"

"I'm wanting to see what you can do in action, and this was the best way, if you just kept on yapping and chattin', but for what it's worth...you guys seem competent..."

"If we're noisy" Silven spoke. I walked over to her, holding my hand out for her.

"It's training. Just keep quiet on the operations, alright?" I nodded, Silven shaking my hand. "So, how about I show you your new arsenal?" I nodded again, Silven letting my hand go as we moved to leave the area. "Course we're not a hundred if we're letting you take them back to your sections with them"

"Hey Siegfried...mind if I ask something?" I asked, hearing a sigh.

"As long as it's not a gun, shoot" He replied.

"You're calling this training...if this is training then I'm doing this full time" I heard him chuckle.

"This is normal, sonny boy. We do things differently in the expedition. This one is meant to help you in your sneaking and listening skills. I've got others around here to work on other skills, which I'll show you as we go on. Considering this, you're going to have to put up with some rigors here and there. Can't be the best without beating the rest as they say" OK, even in Gallia, I've never heard this one. "For what it's worth, this is our way. You're going to be running some operations that shouldn't be attempted by most groups...not only for what we do but for the mortality rates"

Well way to raise the spirits of his new crew. Maybe the spirits of alcohol would help us the most.

_Probably the most entertaining training I've had so far._

_With my first official run with the new guys...this was going to be good_

_and I won a cheap bet_

_what could be better?_

Well, I needed something different. I'm not going to go over every single training regime the Expedition will do. At points I will have characters doing them during conversation but that's about it for the majority.

For what it's worth, the new arsenal I've got planned...yeah, it's not going to be too much. I'm going to have a few differences here and there, but not too much. As much as I would want to go in depth and say that Gallia has developed a brand new assault rifle in 1935 EC, which is kind of around 1940...ish. We've got around 4 years until the assault rifle comes to the fore of warfare. Trust me, there won't be too many super over powered weapons.

So, with that in mind, catch you next chapter.


	38. The Raven

Yeah, working on this as soon as 37 was finished, and it's early in the morning...good thing I'm nocturnal at the minute. And yes, another speech heavy chapter. Trust me, this'll be the last before the regular story returns.

Chapter 38:

The Raven

_Siegfried showed us around the castle, showing us the various sections where we'd train and such_

_Obviously we'd have to talk to our commanders about coming here, so they could make excuses for us._

_Not only that but we'd get told if we were needed. So really it was easy to come here._

_It's got enough here to run an army really...and then we got to the arsenal._

_Filled to the brim with weapons, both experimental and proven along with exotic._

_And then came something we didn't really see coming._

"OK, last thing on our list for the day" Siegfried announced. He'd taken us back to the Tavern for some unknown reason. Guess we'll now know. We'd all gotten a drink of some kind, from Silven's vodka, to Elias' rum, Ruby's gin to my cider. Revy was just drinking tequila, can't blame her considering how she acts at times, she's hot headed enough. Siegfried had gotten himself a beer. Whilst I am aware that I'm not old enough to drink back home...that's back home. Drinking age here is 16. Hell to the yes.

We'd gotten a table in the corner. According to Siegfried it's out of the way enough to conduct business but close enough to the front so that it doesn't look secret. Don't ask, I don't get it either. All I know is this is drinking time.

"So, with all I know from today, do you all find any reason not to join up?" He asked, looking around the table. "Last chance to back out, work may be harder but pay is better...we can also make a bigger difference, if it's subtle"

"Look Sieggy, you ain't losing me that easy" Revy spoke, taking a quick swig. "Someone saw I could keep up with the others, and I'm certain to repay that"

"Commander, I'm sticking around as well" Ruby spoke, giving him a salute. "What you offer is a lot of challenges, and I feel that the Education I have received at Lanseal will give me more then enough to meet them"

"Gotta say Sir, If she's in, I'm in" Elias chipped in, patting Ruby on the back. "Someone's gotta protect my sis. And we've got to work to live up to expectations" Well, Lanseal is big here.

"Nice to know...Especially with you two, Martiniques. Lanseal will be proud" Siegfried told them, smiling. "So...Craig, Silven..." They looked at us expectantly. "Want to make it a full house?"

"I'm in" Silven told them, taking a quick swig. "Let's face it, we've all got skills, you found us, and I don't want to leave you at just five men" She gave me a subtle elbow. "Wanna tag in?"

I took a quick swig, letting the expectation build along with thinking for a bit. These guys were a good group. I'll admit, we may not be the best, but we've got to give it a go. And while it is risky, if it makes any difference, then...whats the harm? I've had the devil's luck so far in this war. Surely it'll hold long enough. I lowered the glass, putting it on the table.

"Well now, I said where do I sign and I meant it" I told them, smiling. "Let's face it. We're meant to be the elite, right? May as well make sure the elite have the best" Siegfried smiled.

"That's the spirit laddy" He moved his glass, reaching down and grabbing something from a bag. "Whilst I wish the rest of the evening could be sociable, I have a couple of formalities to finish with" He pulled out fire documents, placing them on the table with a few pens. "I suggest you read that fully, as I need you to sign that"

We each grabbed one each, each of us unrolling it slowly and reading it. It was as formal as you could get, bearing the Seal of the Archduchy of Gallia, along with the signatures of Damon, Varrot and...some other guy. I read it as best as I could, trying to decipher the fancy handwriting.

_Principality of Gallia Decree 251_

_Legacies of War act 1912_

_I, the undersigned, agree to follow the terms set by the people, the country and the Dutchy of Gallia._

_All Matters undertaken in sections of the military dealing with a) infiltrations, b) weapons development and design, or c) strategic planning, will not be discussed for the period of a year beginning upon the date the signatory finishes their tenure in the role._

_Any conversations held with others under this decree must be held either personal censoring out critical information to a) the war effort of the period or b) conversing in a secure environ where information will not be spread._

_If the Signatory finds that, whilst undertaking his duties, he or she is compromised to Allied soldiers of Gallia of any regiment or section, he or she must either facilitate a means to either keep their duties secret or to have the third party join the act._

_Exceptions may be made if, in the course of operations, military units work together with units not under the act. However, if the unit can avoid such an encounter, then it is priority to do so._

_Sections under this act will not know that other sections are under it._

_If, in the course of Military operations, the Signatory finds themselves captured by the enemy, there is no exchange. Officially they don't exist to the Gallian army, and thus have no value._

_Weapons developed for infiltration units are not to be used in other sections._

_If the military units are to be drawn up onto the front line as part of a joint operation with regular military units, this rule is rendered void, but only the infiltration unit members are allowed access to the stockpiles._

_Weapons developed are deemed experimental until the Central deems them up to standard for the main army. However, they may be produced in extra numbers and utilized during this process._

_Allowances may be made to the terms set in this act, however, the basic rules must be followed._

_Amendment 1930: The Forgotten Soil act: if the signatory tells the media about their duties under this act before the year is up, they follow the same penalties as if they broke the act._

_Failure to follow this act will result in all honors being stripped from the transgressor, an unspecified term in a military prison along with the possibility of death by firing squad._

_In the name of the Duchy, the Valkyrur, and the People of Gallia, I, the undersigned, agree to the above, and pledge to follow them. By the Valkyrur's Flame._

_Signed_

_..._

I looked over at the others, seeing them all reading it, everyone's face showing a different emotion, with Elias being excited as odd as it sounds. I couldn't help but be...confused...we had this to sign, to basically make it known that we would keep our gobs shut about this whole thing. I can see why we're a stealth unit now. Ruby lowered it, turning to Siegfried.

"Are you serious?" She asked, almost in disbelief. Siegfried nodded back to her.

"As serious as my gun is powerful" He replied, looking around. "Joining the Expedition full time is a huge commitment. Not only do we do the worst jobs, but we also don't get to publicize it. And take it from personal experience...it can cost you a lot more then your time and your life. Sometimes it can take a toll on your sanity..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Everything you do on the inside of this...is for our eyes only...that means only us six and our weapons developer, Falcon, who was unfortunately busy today, are the only ones who can get told anything about what we do. They are the ones you run to if you have to talk to someone about a previous operation. They are the only ones to talk to about the joys of our victories, and the pains of our failures. You see a corpse or two in the field...if it gets to you...then run to them" He lent back at this point, taking a breather and a swig of his drink. "It's your last stop...you sign that...the train leaves it's station...and there's no getting off until we reach our destination..."

Everything fell silent at this point, all of us looking over the, may as well be a, contract before us. We signed ourselves away if we did this...but we'd make a stand for Gallia. I grabbed a pen, putting the document carefully on the table, signing the document as neatly as I could before nodding. Why was I always the first person to do these things? It's almost like I'm a protagonist in a story...saying that I was a hero in 'On the Gallian Front'

….yeah...erm...not going to say that. Anyway, I rolled it up, passing it over to Siegfried and putting the pen on the table. "You got me" I told him, smiling. "Can't help but do it properly" Siegfried smiled in return.

"Thanks..." He replied, nodding. "So...who's next?"

"The son of the legends is in...I may as well join in" Ruby voiced, signing hers and doing the same. "Let's see if Appleby can pull his weight"

"I'm curious as well" Elias spoke, following along. "But I think I'll do it for the scars...chicks dig scars" Siegfried chuckled at this point, Silven silently following along. "Eradora? You joining?"

"Yeah...I don't think Father would forgive me if I backed out" She spoke, taking a deep swig. "Heck, he'd have my hide if I said no" OK...what's with Silven's family?

"What about you Revy? You signing that form?" Siegfried asked. We all expectantly turned to her, seeing her spinning the pen in her hand, the contact open on the table.

"I don't think there's enough on offer for me" She spoke, putting the pen down. "I do this stuff anyway...I've been fighting the front line for two bloody weeks straight with just my Cutlasses, now your asking me to keep it quiet for some fucking act? I may as well stay freelance" She grabbed her drink, putting her feet up on the table and leaning back on the chair. "Sorry that I don't meet your expectations"

"Well...I guess I may as well let you know this part" Siegfried spoke. Revy took a swig at this moment, taking a few gulps. "For signing up you get a bonus to your wages, compared to Regular wages, you get around six hundred thousand extra ducats a month" She took the glass away quickly, spitting out the booze whilst the chair fell over backwards. Elias quickly grabbed the glass as she fell, and we watched her roll on the ground, swearing all the while.

"Son of a bitch that hurt" She complained, crawling up the side of the table and throwing a fist down as she rubbed the back of her head. "You're tellin' me that we get two years wages in the space of a month?!" Siegfried nodded, Revy jaw dropping.

"And that's not taking into account bonuses for danger pay and successful operations" He told her. I didn't even have to look at her to tell her eyes had turned into doll- erm...Ducat signs. Saying that it would be pound signs for this age...moving on quickly. She quickly snatched the glass from Elias, almost yanking his arm off before chugging down the rest of the alcohol and signing the document.

"Let me on that train as quick as fucking possible!" She almost shouted. Elias grabbed the chair and lifting it back up for her, Revy too caught up in the moment to notice before passing the document to Siegfried and moving to sit down, missing the chair, landing harshly on the ground again. I shook my head as she lifted herself back up, turning to Siegfried.

"Erm...we get two years worth of regular army wages?" I asked him, going wide eyed. He nodded again.

"In this day and age, it's roughly two years straight with bonuses amounting to quadruple rates for successful operations and double for failed ones" ….I don't know how much that amounts to. I don't even know how much the militia get. All I know is that one ducat is roughly equivalent to a pound. So we're getting around...hmm...A lot. I'm not doing the maths whilst drunk, but my god it's big for what I'm used to at sixteen.

"Thought that would get you thinking. Whilst we can't directly give you...that much in person, we give the central bank details to put more into your accounts. That way you can just withdraw the funds as needed" I don't think Revy is listening at this point. I can hear her humming a merry tune. "There is also one more thing. You need your tags and call signs"

He reached into his pocket, pulling out another piece of paper along with fives sets of dog tags. Revy composed herself long enough to sit down and have a drink. I raised an eyebrow, looking over the tags. They're not like the...I think tin things you get back home. These are silver, with words and numbers cut into them unneatly. The chain is still as thin as it was, but if anything the balls are thicker. He lent back as he got them out, looking over the paper.

"OK, when we go out on Ops, we're on constant radio contact with our mobile command unit. They let us know if they believe we've found enough or if we've been in too long, among other pieces of information. We all contact each other using call signs. I explained to you all when I gave you the tour, my call sign is Altiesen. I've had for around twenty years now and it's almost second nature for me to respond when people say that. You must all learn yours, your allies, and our commanders in the field. You'd be surprised how major it can get in the field"

"As for your call signs...not only are they on here, but these also have your names and service dates. For instance...Revy" The woman leaned back forward, Siegfried throwing a set to her. "Got you a nice one. Zweihandier" Isn't that German...two handed. I know it was a sword name. Revy caught the tags, smiling.

"Fancy...I'll give you that much" She replied.

"Elias...Was tempting to get you and Ruby something that works with Ruby's...Lariot" He threw the dog tags to the guy, Elias catching them flawlessly. I have no idea what that's meant to mean.

"What, nothing simple" He asked, smiling until Ruby elbowed him.

"Ruby my dear...Rosen" Rosen? OK, never the hell mind. He held the tag for her, getting her quickly taking them off him.

"Thank you Siegfried"

"Silven...Weissritter" White knight? Fancy. He passed the dog tag to her, getting her grabbing it and waiting for him to let go before moving.

"Makes sense I guess" She strapped it on before I saw a pair dangling in front of my face.

"Craig...Gespenst" Ghost? Come the heck on. I'd take Dark Knight any day.

"Erm...Thanks...boss" I spoke, grabbing the tags and strapping them on quickly.

"Command in the field normally uses the call sign of Expat, so be aware if you hear that one. We're going to be doing a lot under call signs so learn them well" He looked around, seeing us all strapped with our Dog Tags. "So...one last thing before I end this formal stuff...how many of you know what this is?"

He reached into his holster, pulling out what looked like a Darcsen before putting it down on the table, leaning back. I raised an eyebrow, seeing Ruby analyze it quickly. Something told me it wasn't a normal Darcsen. The barrel was face away from me.

"That looks like one of the Darcsen series of pistols" She told Siegfried, getting a shaking head.

"This 'ere is a pistol I took from a raid in EW1...and it's what spawned the Darcsen's idea" he picked it up, spinning it in his hand. "What about you Zwei?" Revy looked away, sighing.

"If it ain't a Darcsen, then my guess would put it at a Sabre" Again, shaking head.

"Wrong again" He smiled, looking over to the bar. "Stanford, get the target out!" He yelled over to the barkeep. The poor guy shook his head, pulling a level quickly, a bullseye appearing out of nowhere. "Watch this. If I fire it normally" He aimed quickly, firing three quick shots off, the bullets digging in with a ping. "So, classic Valkyrur, right?" He took pulled back on the slide, letting it lock into place before aiming once more, the small casing bouncing out. "Watch this"

He pulled the trigger, the gun erupting with a loud bang as a bullet flew, now a snap erupting from the target. We all recoiled, turning back to him, seeing the pistol slid forward. He held it up, pulling back on the slide, a larger casing leaving the gun, landing on the table with a thud. He pushed the slide forward, a click issuing from the gun before he smiled.

"Ladies and Gents, I present to you the Gallian armies best kept secret: The Raven Sniper Pistol, as it has been named" He smiled, taking the clip out and putting it on the table. "Notice the fine pieces to this. The slide is bigger, the hammer is stronger, the barrel is reinforced, the clip is bigger, both ways, and the barrel has a hole set for the old forty five ACP and the new five point five six" I grabbed the clip, looking it over and seeing both rounds inside, lined up with the forty five in front of the bigger bullet. This can't work...how in the absolute hell can this blighter work? "Jealous?"

"When did you-" Ruby started.

"I got a mission in Imperial terrain back in EW1, and this was under development there. I stole this and the plans, and the Gallian army can't reproduce the gun itself...mostly due to me not handing either over"

"How come?" Elias asked, taking a swig.

"If Gallia reproduces this gun...all hell breaks loose" He admitted, sighing as he lent forward. "Right now, we can control the guns themselves, and I know we are on the beginning of weapons development. If this were to come into the R&D lines, you corrupt the whole of Gallia's weapons development for a generation of weapons. And then that's not taking into account the havoc of having people running around with pistol capable of firing twin calibers" as much as I should care, I don't. I don't really understand that stuff. All I care is he has a powerful pistol.

"For what it's worth...I'm glad your on our side" Elias remarked, smiling.

"Well...I'm your boss...and here's my first order" He grabbed his glass, holding it up. "Drink up, enjoy and talk. Let's get to know one another proper before the nights out, as the next time I'll see you all together is when we go on our first operation together"

He took a swig at this point, buying in a new round as he did so. We all knew we'd be in hell in both situations...so best to enjoy the moment.

_To say that pistol was...odd puts it lightly. it was a pistol that shouldn't work, shouldn't exist._

_I don't know if Gallia's weapons have been developed differently in that regard, from what I've seen they haven't._

_But, for all it's worth, an impossible weapon may be a brilliant aid in combat, to surprise and it's own benefits._

_But...here's hoping that we don't need to rely on it. These guys seem to be brilliant._


	39. Our Next Deployment

So, I managed to get my touch back with FIW, and that is currently drowning in so many updates that it should be good for a while. Saying that I need to get this back on track, and for that, I need to begin, I need to resolve how things are going. So let's rock and mother F-ing roll!

This is going to be short by the way.

Chapter 39:

Our next deployment.

_Time passed after I left the company of the expeditionaries, but we all knew how to contact one another._

_Varrot's excuse was a classic. Helping to test the shotgun I had captured during the Siege of Vasal._

_I had to think about how the future was going to work out...and that meant leaving Siegfried to his work._

_Getting back in the Militia was tough oddly...and then we got word..._

"We're deploying to Kloden?" Rosie asked. Her, Largo, Myself, James, Alicia and Isara had been summoned to the war room, Welkin and Varrot looking at us from the other side of the table. Welkin simply nodded.

"Marshal Damon feels that our squad would be bested suited to...Woodland operations, securing the enemy's supply depots in the area along with pushing the enemy back into the Barious" Varrot explained.

I should explain at this point. The Kloden Wildwood is a massive forest in Gallia (and by massive I mean has like a third of the land that can actually be used for housing within it) spreading from the edge of Lanseal's domains at Mellvere to the Randgriz river's source, with it's back to the Barious Desert and Tanaba village on the other side. I didn't really know that much about either...saying that I didn't need to. Tanaba wasn't of importance to us at this moment. Sure it had it's cultural significance, but that was worthless if we couldn't secure it without being pushed out.

"Why do I get the odd feeling the Marshal is only sending us out there to get us out the way" James asked, sighing as he paced.

"Chances are kiddo" Rosie chimed in, Largo taking the cigar out of his mouth and tapping the ash off the end.

"At least it's somewhere beyond The Randgriz" He commented, cracking his neck. The River by the way.

"It's not for me to comment" the Captain spoke, pushing her glasses up. "Squad 7 of Regiment 3 is one of the major elements leading an assault on an imperial supply base in the woods. Last we know the Imperials are using it to hold their supplies for the major offensives into West Gallia" Insert Star Wars joke here. "Damon is moving to commit the rest of the army to offensive operations in the north, in an attempt to encircle Fouzen and put it under siege" that would help us out a ton.

"To this end, Regiment 2 is under orders to maintain it's hold on the south, with Lanseal under orders to train it's newest recruits for offensive operations" So now we're putting students on the front line in order to get some extra manpower. I don't agree but we have to. "Regiment 1 will wait for our operation to conclude before they assault the towns of Demestra and Felestra. If they can secure those along with the Lisian plains, then Grand Marshal Damon believes that we can take Fouzen back into our control within the month, and with that restart production from there as soon as, giving our side a much needed boost" here's a shocker for you. Most of our guns are outdated at the moment. Yeah, whilst the R&D guys may be good at upgrading them, our arms are, apparently, mostly from EW1. For what it's worth, no believed Gallia would be in a war at this point, but fall beliefs lead to false sense of security.

"Here's the plan from what we know" Welkin started, pulling up a roll of paper, unfurling it and showing off a map of the wildwoods. "Considering the dense woodlands, the Edelweiss will only have one route it can travel. Chances are this route will be filled with mines, lancers and AT guns" He pointed to a section nearer to Tanaba, the road leading out both ways. "That is the only route the Edelweiss can use, and so we need it clear or at least safe for our only armour element"

"So we're going in solo until we can clear the guns" I surmised, looking to Welkin. "And then, that's not going to be easy"

"Thankfully, it's not as hard as you might think" Isara spoke, putting a hand under her chin. "Due to the woods, every route is flankable, so anywhere the enemy entrenches, you should be able to get around" I sighed at this, shaking my head.

"Yeah, and then there's the fact the enemy can use that as well"

"It's not all bad" Welkin spoke. We all turned to him, wondering what inspiration line he was going to pull. "Kloden is known for it's vast array of wildlife, and has 20 species that you wouldn't see elsewhere in Gallia" I raised an eyebrow, looking between everyone and sighing.

"Lieutenant...now might not be the best time for nature facts" Alicia commented.

Your telling me... Varrot turned to the map of Gallia on the wall, shaking her head. She knew this was bad for us as well. We were attacking an Imperial Supply depot with a few squads. Chances are it would be heavily defended, they would be ready for us, and they would be able to ambush us at every turn.

"There is some good news" she spoke. We all turned to her, I personally raised an eyebrow. "A Resistance group known as The Mourning Dead are operating in the area, formed from survivors of villages attacked by the Empire" I raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant. "They've only existed for around 2 weeks, and they've only been able to talk to us thanks to stolen Imperial radios that they've had to retune, along with stealing ammo and food from Imperial convoys. The section you'll be dealing with know their way around the woods"

I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms as I thought about what she had just said. A resistance group already? Didn't it take Russia a month or two to get it's first group of Partisans? And then it was Stalin who organised them. What was it...like 3 months before La Resistance was formed? I don't even know what it was for Yugoslavia, but I doubt it was a straight month short.

"How will we be able to tell the Resistance from the Imperials?" James asked. Perfectly valid as a question. And then I wasn't bluntly expecting them to look like civilians. Varrot sighed, pushing her glasses up.

"We don't know..." She started, shaking her head. "All we know is that they have told us that they will work with any Gallian unit that enters the area"

"Then how do we know about them?"

"Some of our men were retreating out of Barious, chased by Imperial infantry groups. The Resistance group ambushed the Imperials, saving the unit and letting them know who they were"

"I think I heard this story from Hector" Largo continued, putting the cigar to his mouth once more. "The main reason we have so little communication with the various resistance groups that have formed is because Damon refuses to work with them, denying them radio equipment when we had a chance to give them some" So thanks to Damon the Partisans are out on a limb. Joy.

"Largo, how does Hector know this?" Rosie asked. Largo gave a small grin.

"He led one of them before his unit ran out of supplies. Only reason he isn't actually leading one of the groups is because Damon is more likely to use that against you. Hell, I heard a young woman was denied into the Militia due to that"

"I can prepare the Edelweiss for Woodland combat, but it's going to be tough to keep the tank safe from mines" Isara spoke, sighing and shaking her head. "The best I can do is make try to make the reads less likely to jam in the mud"

"Looks like we're relying on engineers a lot more here" I sighed after I said this, scratching my head. "Hey James, feel like changing roles?" He shook his head.

"I'll stick to sniping...at least it's less of a risk" Yeah, if you follow orders and keep away from the enemy.

"Yeah, if you follow orders" Did Rosie just read my mind? James cast her a sideways glance, and I can't help but smile at this point.

"We're going to have a problem with the woods obscuring your vision. Hopefully the Resistance will be able to give you a good idea on where to shoot from" I looked at the map once more, seeing a hill near the woods, along the road.

"Let's just hopes the base is near that hill" I commented.

"We're calling this Operation: Woodland Spite" Varrot explains. I like the name actually. "You are to deploy to Kloden and make contact with the Resistance in 4 days time. The attack on the supply base is scheduled to begin in 5 days time. The resistance has sent word through courier that a supply train will be leaving in 6, with the other regiments intending to attack in a weeks time" Oh joy, that's a small window in itself. Guess we know how high stakes this one it. "You will be moving out tomorrow...I wish you luck. Dismissed"

"This isn't going to be easy" Vyse commented. I had gone with him and Aika to the river side, each of us armed and ready to roll, but taking time out to take Vyse's frustration out by throwing rocks at the river, trying to make them skip across it's surface. It was oddly...beachlike here. That probably isn't even a word but still, I'm coining it. I had sat down on the sand, Aika laying back as Vyse was finding random pebbles.

"When is it ever easy?" I asked him. He turned to me, throwing a pebble up and smiling.

"Better this way in my opinion. What's life without a little challenge?"

"Aika, can I shoot him now?" I asked. She shoot up, shaking her head and laughing.

"Sorry baby, but this is how he is" She commented, Vyse throwing another pebble.

"So...how did weapons testing go?" Vyse asked, not turning to me. I smiled, remembering what it was.

"It went well. Should be entering service in some sections of the army soon" I lied, shaking my head as I did so. "Hell, they were on about giving it to tank crews as a defence weapon" Maybe a step too far there. Vyse smiled as he turned back to me, nodding a few times.

"Yeah, thanks for lending me your MAGs there. I needed it" I grabbed my old girl, checking her over and seeing the extra scratches he had added through service. I have to be honest, I'm surprised the girl's still going...did I really just call my gun 'girl' twice and only just notice? Oh god.

"No problem. Be thankful we got to try a shotgun from it" Vyse smiled, grabbing his pistol and his SMG, holding them one in either hand, ready.

"Next time I'll go at them like this. Think it'll make me a bad ass?" I chuckled, shaking my head at this.

"As long as you get the job done baby, does it matter how you look?" Aika commented, shaking her head.

I don't know why, but hearing this...pieces in my head fitted together.

_I've been fighting the front line for two bloody weeks straight with just my Cutlasses_

It couldn't be...could it?

_Being told we're moving out again 3 weeks after our success at Vasel._

_I saw it coming, yes, but I didn't want it. Hell, I thought it'd be someone else_

_but for what it's worth, I have to fight for Gallia._

_I've started...so I'm going to finish this fight._


	40. Marshal VS Militia

An update is great. Some updates are fine. I'm still going, it's quite di-vine...

Nah, doesn't work. Heading back to Gallia once more for some more updating from the country in hell. And then we're going to have to be some background detail somewhere isn't there.

Chapter 40

Marshal VS Militia

_This wasn't going to be some walk in the park. Having to call in elements Damon hated told us that._

_He hated the Militia enough...but for that we'd have to endure whatever he threw at us._

_We were already doing better then the Central regiment, taking back ground they had lost_

_Here was hoping that he kept his curly moustache out of our squads duties._

Somehow We had managed to get transportation to Kloden, comprised of 8 Half Tracks, each one loaded half with munitions and food and half for our squad. The Edelweiss was doing it's standard drive to the Wildwoods, Welkin and Isara inside of it, preping everything for the trip I looked over everything, raising an eyebrow as I saw the Engineers loaded and ready to go as they normally did.

"Why are we so loaded?" I asked, jumping down off the back and walking over to the crowd of Squad 7.

"Capt. Varrot has given us extra supplies for the Resistance" Alicia informed me. Largo lugged a lance around before turning to us.

"According to what I've heard, it's to keep them in the fight. Apparently their last raid went south and they are running low on supplies" He explained. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Relax, Craig, they'll be fine until we get there"

"Easy for you to say" I still had Revy on my mind. She'd hold her own out there but would her allies? I heard a runner, turning and seeing Ted heading out way.

"Guys, hate to break up this meeting, but we've got trouble" He told us hastily, everyone outside of the Edelweiss looking at him. "Damon's on his way here with a couple of generals!"

"Pfft. Nice try Ted" Hector spoke. I looked around, and I don't think anyone believed him. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised we all agreed on thinking he was joking.

We all scattered to get back to our duties, I was part of the group gathering the last of our gear, grabbing my ear piece and strapping it on, making sure it was secure. I turned to Vyse, seeing him cleaning the slide on his pistol and filing a section of the hammer to make sure it was clean from powder residue. I wasn't really paying attention to anything else, grabbing my Mags and making sure everything was clear.

"Soldiers! Stand to Attention!" We heard someone shout. I ignored it, letting the bolt go and cleaning a section near the butt of the rifle. "Regiment 3, Squad 7!" I turned, seeing that it was actually a group of three soldiers from the Royal Guard. We all shot to attention, running into a line in front of them, standing bolt upright. "Took you damn long enough" Aside from Vyse at my left, I had Audrey to my right. I looked around, not seeing Welkin or Isara in the line. The Royal Guardsmen turned away from me, giving me a chance to get the radio on.

"Welkin, Is, we've got a visitor. Need you up and ready" I spoke silently, turning it off quickly afterwards. One of them started walking up and down the line, examining us. I ignored him, looking up the alley they had come from, seeing Damon and a couple of other men in near enough the same garb walking towards us, Damon with his crop in hand.

"Squad 7 of Regiment 3...not as impressive as I thought" One of the generals spoke. I recognised the voice...just couldn't place it...along with not wanting to believe it. "What do you think Field Marshal?" This ought to be good. He paced up and down the line, giving us all a look over.

"They aren't the best...but they'll do the job they are given" Wow, talk about a pep talk. Would you like some ass kicking with that? "Varrot seems to see a lot in them..." Yeah, a lot more then your regiment ass hat. "They don't look anything like anything compared to the Regulars" I clenched my fist at that, Damon stopping in front of me in particular, giving me a look over.

He took a lot longer looking me over then he did the rest of the line. Heck, he even walked a bit closer to me, looking me in the eye, giving me a cold glare. I did my best to return his glare, my other hand clenching around my SMG. He stepped back once more, now lightly tapping his hand with the crop.

"Name and Rank" He demanded. I gave him a salute as I didn't feel like getting hit.

"Craig Appleby, Corporal in Squad 7" I replied, lowering my hand. He did a small laugh.

"Appleby...Oh, so your the son of that Wretch" If your talking about Dad, keep going. If your talking about Mum...keep talking and see where you wind up. "All the effort she put into EW1 and she can't be bother to get off her tail and fight once more. What is she, betraying us through inaction?" I gritted my teeth with my lips still closed, Damon turning to the other guy. "What do you think of him?"

"I couldn't really care sir. He gets the job done" The other one replied.

"Sir! Considering the Op they are about to go on, they are carrying a lot more supplies then they need" One of the Royal Guard soldiers told him. He chuckled, walking back up to me.

"Well now...Why would you be carrying so much?" He leaned close to my face. "Could it be you are planning something behind the Gallian Army's back?"

"Sir, I must protest!" Alicia Finally shouted, running down to the line to flank Damon. "If you must ask about our current orders, surely you should be consulting with Lt. Gunther, not Corporal Appleby" The other general from before got in between her and him, shaking his head.

"Captain Malchiot, right?" He asked. Alicia raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "I would ask you not to interfere for now. Marshal Damon is just doing his job" His job. My Ass. Damon turned around, walking away slowly.

"So, you've got backup in your squad...That's good for you" He sounded snide as he said that. "Unfortunately your squad can do nothing compared to Regiment 1"

"I can think of some examples of where we did better" I told him. He turned half way around, Alicia and mystery general 1 doing the same fully. "In fact I can think of a lot of notable moments"

"Craig, don't do this" Vyse warned.

"No no no. I'd like to see where this is going" Damon spoke. He held his crop out, pushing me backwards out of line. "Let's see if one of the sons of the Hero has as smart a mouth as his mother did" He stopped as I hit the back of a truck, never looking away from Damon. "Go on...let's see what you've got"

"Alrighty then...I'll start from the beginning" He started tapping his hand again. "First off, the defeat at Ghirlandio. We were ready to be attacked and yet were pushed back so quickly that I'm surprised you're still standing" I could see the little stress mark on his head as I said this. Let's keep this going. "The use of Ragnite gas, which is banned under numerous international treaties, and still failed to win the battle" even more stress. He was making a grr sound faintly. "The battle of Kloden, where you ran and left command to your lieutenant as soon as the battle started going south, ordering them to hold the line with their lives, effectively telling them it was Victory or Valhalla" Yes, Valhalla exists here...well, it doesn't, but you know what I mean. "The retreat from Fouzen, losing not only our best industrial resource to the enemy, sacrificing a majority of our best generals, but losing when we had the enemy outnumbered 5 to one. And yet again, running after giving a victory or Valhalla order" The 'grr' was louder, now clenching his crop. "The refusal to assist the Resistance elements operating within Gallia, after knowing that we could effectively have an army of resistance groups fighting and aiding us. The lose of Vasel, needing the Militia to push the line up. The defence of the south, where you ordered a charge, recalled the C.O of the area as soon as that happened and then cancelling the charge, requiring them to blow a bridge, forcing the enemy to Vas-"

"ENOUGH!" He yelled, swinging the crop up and getting ready to swing it at my face. I gritted my teeth, looking away as he brought it around.

Suddenly, a blue figure charged in front of me, catching the crop effortlessly and stopping it. I looked at the figure, seeing Audrey, gritting her teeth. Damon was breathing heavily, still holding the whip.

"That's enough!" Audrey commanded, pulling her hand back and taking the crop out of his hand. "You have failed enough. We have done time and again better then the Regulars, and if you feel that is wrong, then actually do so!" Damon backed up, breathing heavily. I came out from behind Audrey, looking at him.

"I don't care who you think you are. Actions speak louder then words, and if you want to prove your better, then do so" I told him. He started calming down, adjusting his collar around his neck as he did so. The entire squad was looking at us, even the mysterious figure. "Our Orders were to contact a resistance group, and work with them to take down the supply depot you lost" Damon shook his head, running at me once more. Audrey effortlessly grabbed his arm, turning him about and pushing him back to the line with her boot. He turned once more, and I stepped in front of the Lancer. "give up"

He gritted his teeth once more, now growling loudly. He started charging at me once more, this time getting his fist caught by me. His right was caught by mine, with me standing side on to him. He threw his left at me, getting another hand catching that. I looked, seeing James backing me up.

"You mess with him, you mess with me" He spoke. Damon shook his head.

"Damn kids of that bitch Appleby" I looked at James, both of us nodding as we wordlessly knew what we were going to do.

We span around, slamming out left and right elbows into his face, knocking him flat to the ground. I looked at him, holding my hand up for him. He just waved me down, both of us watching Damon scramble back up.

"You know your outnumbered, in more ways then one" I told him, cracking my knuckles. "if you leave now, we can pretend this never happened" Damon eventually got back up, adjusting his collar once more and sighing.

"Tie, we're leaving" He commanded. 'Tie' bowed, Damon turning around and walking swiftly away. "Have fun on your camping trip" He snidely finished, leaving with his Royal Guard Entourage. 'Tie' looked between us, scratching the back of his head.

"Apologies for the Marshal" He commented, pulling something from his pocket and throwing it towards me. "If I give you this, can we call it even?" I caught it in the air, opening my hand to look at it. It was a sheath...with a knife in it. I pulled the knife out, seeing that it was as sharp as a needle, and serrated. This was meant for more then killing, I knew that much. "Call that a present from a friend" I put the blade away, strapping it to my uniform.

"Just make sure he keeps out of trouble in future" I told him. He nodded, walking away from us after Damon.

_Damon obviously didn't like the Militia's success. Hell, rattling of his failures told me that much._

_Whoever his subordinate was...at least he had some sense to him._

_Why did he give me the knife though? that made no sense_

_at least we had one thing to look forward to. Whoever the Resistance was, we shared his disdain._

Yeah...He hates us. Trust me he has more then enough reason to hate me, that'll come to light soon enough. But anyway, next time is Kloden. At the very least arriving, but I might have them meet up with 'The Mourning Dead' Resistance Group...and yes, I got the idea from WW2, so sue me.


	41. The Wildwoods

You know, I think I'm on a roll. Somehow I can just keep cranking these out and I love it. Hell, it's so easy these days.

Anyway, Yeah, Gallia will have at least one resistance group. I feel it would accurately reflect what would happen in a war. It happened in Russia, France and the old Yugoslavia during WW2, there were a whole swath of them during the Cold War on both sides, just not as much as the Nazis generated. I'm not sure how major a role they should play considering how long the war goes and indeed how many members the resistance would have. (Let's face it, a lot of people would rather flee then fight)

so LETS ROCK

* * *

Chapter 40

The Wildwoods

_I'm sure Damon doesn't like us...we're more successful then his groups and that is bad enough._

_But we had to put that behind us and get on with the job at hand._

_Kloden was known for being almost impossible to traverse by car_

_Good thing we had tank and foot._

I was in the back of a half track with Fina, Marina and Catherine, all of us on edge, but doing our best to relax. I was tinkering with my SMG, playing with the bolt and cleaning it over, only making sure that I didn't make the scratches worse. Fina had told me that the gun was on the edge of breaking, but would at least make it through a few more fights.

I turned to Marina and Catherine, seeing them playing a card game. The basic idea was one of them had the joker, and they both has half a deck each along with that. Whoever had the joker would let the other person draw from their selection, and if they made a pair, they could throw it down. If they didn't, it was just draw again. If they drew the Joker, their turn was over and the other would go.

At least that's how I understood it. Marina was currently drawing cards from Catherine, getting her down to around 5 cards to Marina's 4. I shook my head, turning outside and sighing, watching the landscape just roll away. I was thankful for whoever had decided to put this half track at the back. And then whoever the driver was, he wasn't in the Militia.

"Seems almost too peaceful" I spoke, sighing. "Hard to believe we're a country under siege"

"It's a fragile peace" Fina commented, checking over her equipment one more time. "The majority of Gallia is under the Imperial's control...and we've got to keep an eye out for traps along the way" I nodded, sighing again.

"Wonder what this place was like in peacetime" Fina gave me an odd look at this point. "I know that, chances are, it would have changed a lot in the time we've been gone"

"You talk about the Federation lands..." Fina started. I turned to her, wondering how she was going to continue. "Do you think...Gallia would be better off allied with them?" I turned my head away.

"I've heard tales of the Federation's conduct...while Gallia would be better off Militarily, we wouldn't be in the long run" She nodded, checking over her Gallian.

"They didn't help us much in EW1" Catherine commented, down to her last two cards as Marina pulled another one, grunting silently as Catherine pulled the last card and finished the game. "Heck, the only way they helped was when we forced their hand. Your father destroying the bridge and diverting the Imperials to them" They gathered the cards back up, pulling out the joker and putting it away. "Fancy a game of Texas hold 'em?" How did that name get over here?

The truck slowly ground to a halt, all of us looking around as we wondered what was going on. There was a knocking on the divider between the cab and the back, all of us grabbing our guns. That was a sign they used to mean 'get the hell out of my truck', practically. I jumped out first, quickly followed by Fina, and both of us looking around, seeing everyone unloading everything aside from the supplies.

Alicia was walking down the row, talking to the groups that had left. I look around, seeing the grass turning to nettles, thistles and just about everything else that could hurt. There was then a quick transition, the road being the only route clear as the place became overwhelmingly covered in dense woodland. I scratched the back of my head, sighing.

"We've got to get through that?" I asked. Catherine put her hand on my shoulder, giving me a smile.

"Hope you enjoy nature walks" She told me. I sighed, looking to Marina and seeing her...wait...she smiles?

"You looking forward to this Marina?" I asked her. She quickly wiped the smile from her face, turning to me.

"I like hunting..." She spoke. Putting her sniper rifle over one shoulder. "...brings back memories" OK...well, at least someone likes it here. Alicia got over to our group, holding her rifle in front of her.

"Orders from Welkin. We're walking from here as he's worried we could be ambushed" She told us. We all turned to her as she spoke. "We're to spread out with Engineers taking the lead, some of the Scouts to give support" She looked between us as she said this. "Unfortunately, the woods are going to make sniping difficult, so we're relying on the Shocktroopers to lead the fight if it takes place"

"Sure" I quickly pulled the bolt, nodding. "Just put me where you need me and we'll get through this"

So...let me just skip a few things as we practically just got organised into a wide line, spread out far enough so that we couldn't get cut down easily, but we could also support each other if needed. We eventually got going, with the Edelweiss leading the way for the half tracks. I kept scanning around, hoping to high heaven that we didn't encounter the enemy here of all places.

The woods weren't as bad as I imagined as we travelled through them. Sure the grass was tall, but when wasn't it in the wild? The trees were separate enough to get passage between them and the terrain was generally forgiving. The only thing that was going to hurt was the fact that some routes were closed off by the hills being way too steep to climb for us, resulting in a Scout and Sniper having to be called over to keep an eye on it as the convoy passed.

We had been walking for...must have been an hour, slowly traversing, doing our best to keep quiet, but then considering we were guarding a convoy, that wasn't the easiest thing in the world. I looked to my left, seeing James hanging back with his pistol. Turning to my right I saw Marina ready with her rifle. Both of them were swinging around trying to find something.

Snap.  
Wait, was that...

"Hold up, hold up" I spoke into the radio. We all stopped, the Edelweiss pausing in the road with the convoy behind it.

"What's up?" I heard Vyse speak into the radio. I held my gun ready, stepping forward slowly.

"I heard something...Someone keep an eye out for me and I'll check it" I looked to James and Marina, seeing him grabbing his rifle and keeping pace with me and her scanning with her rifle scope.

We walked slowly forward, hearing more twigs snap underfoot. Something or someone was here, that was certain. James came to stand directly behind me, scanning around where I had just been. There were more twigs snapping, myself and James stopping. We knew whoever it was was close...just how close was another story.

"HEY! IMPS!" We heard someone shout from...above. Myself and James looked up, seeing two shadowy figures jumping down at us. I rolled out of the way, dodging mine, but James wasn't so lucky, getting grabbed by his and dragged down. I got back up quickly, seeing my opponent ready with a knife, James' doing the same but ready to strike. He started bringing the blade down.

BANG!

PING!

The blade held by the assailant on James flew away, it's owner caught up in surprise before James punched him off. I quickly grabbed my blade, somehow swinging it and colliding with my opponents, both of us recoiling away.

"Lex, Stuart! Stand down dammit!" Someone called out. I breathed a few times, looking over the pair. They were dressed as civilians, if a bit more ragged. I looked over my squad, seeing them aiming every weapon they had at the group, even the snipers pulling out an extra pistol to make sure. One of the guys stood up, letting James go properly. He crawled away, pulling his gun out and making sure that he didn't try anything funny.

The stranger came out...and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was her. She looked over us, making sure we were all Gallian soldiers.

"Squad 7 Regiment 3?" She asked, pulling her pistols.

"The Mourning dead?" I asked in return. She sighed, waving her hands back for the guys to back off.

"What took you so long?" She put two fingers to her head, then swinging them forward in a weird salute. "I guess you could call me the leader here, but whatever. Name's Revy Moonbeam" You have to be fucking with me. She's in charge here?

"Corporal Craig Appleby, Squad 7 of the Militia" I replied, acting as if I had never met her. Well, I had to. Wish I could act like we did know one another but still, protocol. "You'll be wanting to see the lieutenant" I turned to lead her, getting a hand on my shoulder.

"Not so fast pretty boy" She told me, swinging me back around and looking me in the eye. "First off, you got the supplies we need" When did I become a messenger?

"We do" Alicia finally spoke up, running over to get between us. "If you will follow me, we've got everything you asked for" I didn't know they had requested this much in supplies. Revy gave us a toothy grin as Alicia led her off. I turned to James, Shrugging.

Why do we always end up as the messengers?

_Finding Revy there was something different, not like what I had expected at all_

_She was a resistance leader? Maybe that's what caught Siegfried's eye during the invitation thing._

_But saying that, it was good to see her, even if I couldn't show it._

_Now we just had to find out what she knew, and get her to help._

* * *

Chances are you saw it coming, but yes, Revy leads a resistance group. Had to have something unique about her and that was it. So the Expedition is playing host to Lanseal, the Militia and the Resistance. Hope that makes you think.

So, next chapter...not sure, might be the battle, might be a diversion. But at most 3 chapters before the battle. Have fun.


	42. The Dead Still Live

Chapter 41:

The Dead Still Live.

_Standing there and knowing that someone you had to trust in future was in this much shit was hard._

_Revy getting into the Expeditionaries must have been a weird turn in itself in normal protocol_

_A resistance member, someone who had no official ties to the military save for fighting the same foe_

_And she was someone I had to work with._

_All I could hope was that she didn't stab us in the back._

Revy and her comrades led us through the deeper sections of the forest, all of us guarding the supply trucks once more, only this time heading off road to do so. Revy took the lead, and almost insisted upon me being second, to the point where it was me or no one doing so. Alicia, wisely, made the call, Welkin barely getting out of the Edelweiss as this demand came about. It wasn't that he took his time, it was actually very hard to get out of it.

Still, the woods themselves were peaceful enough. Welkin had decided that, seeing as we were off the road, he would keep the hatch of the tank open and look around. Every so often we'd hear him speak about some feature of the world around him. I paid half attention, but mostly I kept my hand on my gun, ready for a fight.

"You don't need to be so fucking tense" Revy told me, lighting up a cigarette. "Nearest Imp is at least half a mile out. And then that's where your going tomorrow" I looked at her, shaking my head.

"How can you be so relaxed when we're at war?" I asked her. She chuckled slightly, turning to me with a hand on her Cutlass.

"You live out in hell long enough, you get desensitised to it" He took the stick from her mouth, blowing out the smoke before offering it for me. I shook my head. "Take it from someone who knows...you'll want to pick this habit up or war will drive you insane" People could argue I already am considering my tale.

"Thanks for the advice" I lowered my gun, cracking my neck. "So...where the hell are we going?"

"Our encampment. It's not too far away from where the bastard Imps have set up shop" She grabbed her pistol, flipping it around in her hand. "Besides, I'd a thought your squad would want to be rested up after the trip here" Not saying it was long, but the fact that the sun was going down was kind of a sign it was late in the day. "We can organise the plan later, Once we get these supplies in we're good" I sighed, shaking my head. "Surprised?"

"Not really...I knew resistance groups needed to plan things out like this in order to get things done"

"That's not what I meant meat bag" She turned to me, walking backwards now. "You know what I mean...Whilst I know that it says we can't exactly talk about it out loud..." I sighed, shaking my head again.

"If I'm honest Revy, I am surprised to find you out here, yes" I admitted, turning around and seeing everyone a good deal behind me before turning back to her. "I thought you were just someone who had chosen not to join the Militia and fought anyway" She turned back around, shaking her head. "Heck, I thought you were kidding when you said you had been fighting for two weeks, Zwei" She smiled at this point.

"Guess we're all full of surprises, Gespenst" She turned her head to give me a sideways glance. "Didn't expect the higher ups to send your squad here"

"Well, if I'm honest, I'm surprised myself. Varrot didn't say a thing about you being in charge"

"She doesn't know...Heck, 'Revy Moonbeam' doesn't exist to the Military. The commander around here to them is Lex" She brushed a finger under her nose, giving a smirk. "Kinda surprised me when Sieggy decided I was more relevant to that group then he was"

"Surprised me as well, but for different reasons" Revy laughed at this, turning her head away.

"Short stuff, if you're here, then you're perfect for the job"

The conversation kinda dried up at this point, both of us getting back into our jobs...well, our real jobs and not what was expected of us in the Expedition. Things were kinda weird walking through this place with the sound of nature having died out. It took us a while, but eventually we heard some footsteps. I didn't know how deep we were in the woods, but it was far enough to not be found easily.

"Lex!" Revy shouted, the guy running up beside her. "Get in there and tell them we have company"

"Sure thing boss" Lex ran ahead, grabbing something from his pocket and unrolling it.

"Security measure" She told me, not turning. "We run in carrying a sock over our head. Best we could do considering it would stand out if we got seen with a Gallian Flag"

"Makes sense" I spoke. If they got captured they could just claim to be random civilians. Or indeed make it look like the Federation were involved somehow. Lex eventually stopped at a point just hidden by the fog, waving the sock in the air.

"We got friendlies! We got friendlies!" He called. I looked around, seeing no other people around.

Suddenly, I heard the trees moves, looking at them and seeing people jumping down from them, each one armed with knives and pistols, each one looking like your standard civilian, if a bit more rag tag. They all looked at Lex, then turning to us.

"Your late boss" one of them commented. Revy shoved her way past.

"It was worth it Menias, we got all the help we're going to need" She told them, smiling. "Get everyone together. We need to let them know what's going on and get them ready"

"At once" The group ran off, heading for...whatever. Revy turned to us, waving us forward.

"Squad 7...We're here" She told us. I stopped, the rest of the squad lining up near her with the Edelweiss and the half-tracks at the back.

"What do you mean here?" Vyse asked, seeing nothing. Revy waved us forward, pointing ahead.

"If you'll mind the drop..." I walked forward, seeing that it was practically a cliff edge, but wasn't that much of a fall.

I looked down, seeing a small makeshift settlement of sticks and branches, cover by leaves and god knows what else. People were walking between them, cooking food, readying weapons, just...trying to live a normal life...well, as normal as possible given the circumstances

"Welcome to Bridge" She told us, brushing under her nose. "The place where the living and the dead commune" The group from earlier ran into the camp from a ravine-esque route from one side, pointing upwards towards us as they told everyone what was going on. "So, feel like doing a bit of carrying Gespy?"

"Any time Zwei"

It was weird being in this place...Bridge was literally a place where people had lost so much that they felt a passion for fighting the empire. People here were either injured in some manner (some people having lost arms, legs, eyes) or were too young or old to be make it to Randgriz as they were. Revy made sure the supplies got to her squad of men, loading up the pistols quickly.

Welkin, myself and Alicia had been told to go into what was called the command hut. It was a small place, with barely a bed, enough leaves to keep the rain out and to keep the wind down. They had gotten a metal sheet from...I presume a tank and stood it up on four sticks to make sure it stood up. I think Welkin had told the rest of the squad to get the supplies handed out. Revy wanted me and Alicia was the inbetweener. Well, she was also the 2nd in command so yeah, she kind of had to be. She eventually appeared, walking in reloading one of her pistols.

"That should keep 'em busy" She remarked, lighting another cigarette. "Sorry about that"

"It's all right. I understand you have a lot of work to do here" Welkin replied. Revy flicked her lighter closed, stashing it into a pocket. "So...Lt. Welkin Gunter...I've heard tales of your old man" She started again, standing near the table. "Didn't think I'd meet the son of the hero himself" Welkin shook his head.

"It's nothing, really" He spoke, intending on putting more words in.

"You damn straight it is" She spoke, slamming a hand on the table, Welkin and Alicia recoiling.. "I don't care who your daddy was kiddo. You do your work and we'll get on damn fine" I barely reacted, knowing Revy got like this at times. "So...with that in mind...thanks to your supplies, we've got enough to fight off the imperials from the base with your aid"

"That's...something" Alicia spoke, unsure of how to react. "What do you know?" Revy pulled out her smoke before unrolling a map on the table.

"The Imps are using the Kloden Supply base the Gallians set up in EW1 instead of the Modern one. Apparently this one is in a better spot defensively" She pointed it out on the map, deep in the woods, near a mountain and a lake. A road ran right through it. "As I'm sure your boss has told you, the enemy is using this to supply their next offensive into Gallia"

"She didn't...but we heard about a supply train leaving in two days" Alicia commented. Revy nodded.

"That's the one. Thanks to some intel we stole during a raid, we know that if we hit it now, it'll be lightly guarded. We managed to handle most of their damn mines last raid, along with taking down a good number of the bastards"

"So it should be easier, right?" Revy looked up, nodding to us.

"Right now, we know of only two ways around the enemy front." She got a closer up map of the area, unrolling it again and pinning it down with her guns. "There's a mountain route that is bloody blocked by fallen trees. Only way through is with damn explosives, but once you get through there's a beauty of a sniper point. Guy of ours called Talinais used to use it before the trees blocked his path" She moved her hand away, pointing to the lake.

"There's a route the other side of the lake, only problem is the only way to it is through an outpost the Imps have set up on the road as a checkpoint. We go through that as loud as we normally do and chances are they'll call for reinforcements. And with your tank, I don't want to be the one messing with their 12 Pounders" ...I have no idea before you ask. I think it's an AT gun, but why is is it using the British ammo? "So, we either charge them head on, or sneak in. if we sneak in, we need a way around that outpost" Welkin looked over the map, doing a few 'hmms' as he did so.

"You got a plan Boss?" I asked him. Welkin sighed, shaking his head.

"I might have...but it depends on if what I remember is correct" He admitted. Revy swung her hands out, grabbing her pistols and re-holstering them.

"If you think you can do it with what men we have, then feel free" She told Welkin, turning away and pacing. "You've got what? 20 men? We've got 24 fighters ourselves who we'll bring along for the ride, but all we have are pistols and knives" She stopped pacing, turning back around to look at us. "You get us the plan together, we'll bring the storm"

"But what about everyone else?" Alicia asked. I leaned against a wall at this point. "Not everyone here is a soldier"

"They've been told our plan...I got a deal that transports would be ready to take them out of here as soon as the fighting starts. They'll be in Randgriz in no time if I have my way"

"Seems like you've got everything planned out" I said to her. She held her fist up to me.

"Damn straight. I've organised these guys since we fled from Tanaba, and then we got more from Bruhl and the border towns" She boasted, giving me a grin. "I'm getting them out of here alive, or I'll die trying" I stopped leaning against the wall, nodding.

"Well, I'll make sure you stay alive" she grinned again, giving me a thumbs up.

"So...that's it" Revy told them. "You wanna tell your squad the plan?" Welkin nodded.

"Sure, we'll try and think of something" He replied. Revy nodded back.

"If we're lucky, it'll be foggy tomorrow, so that'll help us out" She opened the 'door' if it can be called such. "Mind if I grab Short stuff for the evening? Got some planning he can help me with considering what he's done in the past"

"If it'll help you out, keep him" Alicia replied. I shook my head, Welkin scratching his.

"You can have him for now, but we need him back for our attack tomorrow" He and Alicia started walking to the door. "He's going to the armor for our Chitinous plating" Wait wha?

"I'll look around the supplies and see if I can make anything that'll help" Alicia commented, pushing Welkin out.

It was obvious this was uncomfortable for them, being around Revy as she was. They closed the door behind them quickly, and I could hear them both comment on how Revy was. She looked away, going over the map once more as I got closer to her. The only time she turned to me was with a Cutlass in her hand.

"You know...you got lucky" She remarked, putting the Iron at the end of the gun to her forehead. "You got a good crowd with you...makes me sick at times, but it works for you"

"And it seems that you being here works for you" I told her, crossing my arms. "I don't think I've seen anyone so determined to make something work before" She sighed at this point, looking over at me.

"Let me give you some advice Gespy. Sometimes you get responsibility without knowing it...and sometimes it's something only you can do" She put the pistol away again crossing her arms once more. "I didn't want this...it just happened. But now I'm here, and I have to make it work...for them"

"Remind me how you didn't get into the Militia?" She smiled, looking down and shaking her head.

"Let me be frank Gespy, if you think I would have taken Militia over this, your right. Militia seems a whole damn sight easier" She sighed again, taking off her tank top and throwing it to one side, now only stood in a bra. I turned around quickly, giving her some privacy. "Come on, we need to get some sleep as I'm borrowing you for an early morning raid" I blushed, keeping my eyes away as she moved closer to me. "Relax...I'm not planning anything" She says as she puts a hand on my shoulder. "Not tonight anyway"

I sighed, starting to unbutton my Militia uniform. "Good thing we brought my spare clothes"

_Revy keeping a whole village together was something else._

_Knowing she had done it under the enemy's nose was another._

_I trusted her in the small amount of time I had known her._

_I just hoped she didn't try anything stupid._

You know what...I'm not going to say it...assume what you will, as I'm not saying if they are or not. :P


	43. Crossing the Silent Line

DROWN IN THE UPDATES! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Wait, wha? Did you hear something?

Which reminds me. I promise you that there won't always be a raid or a stealth section to a battle. It worked in Vasel because we needed a landing point. It works here due to it being a supply base, but I'm willing to bet it won't work in Barious no matter how hard I try to make it work. I really am hoping I'm not making this go away from what I intended it to be. (Saying that, it's first person so it has to be my tale, but I don't want to make it where I'm the hero if that makes sense)

Oh, and still leaving you to assume whether or not. Hehehe.

Well, yeah, anyway, MOVING ON!

* * *

Chapter 43:

Crossing the Silent Line.

_There's a term in the military that everyone knows here...it's the Silent Line._

_When soldiers cross the 'Silent Line' you lose contact with them, be it dying or something else._

_Right now, the only way we could raid the enemy for anything was to cross said line._

_I just hoped that we'd cross back every time._

You'd be surprised how warm lying on a makeshift bed is. The ground was oddly comfortable, with no rocks and sticks sticking in my back. Just the earth as it is. Well I guess there was something helping me be warm...as I found out when I woke up and opened my eyes. Now, do note, I'm pretty sure I went to bed with at least a pair of boxers on.

I felt something before I saw anything, two soft things against my chest along with a lot of softness on my body. There was also something pulling me closer in to the...thing. I sniffed, smelling something oddly sweet, but then feeling something go up my nose.

My eyes now actually opened...and began to take things in. I was laying on my side, with Revy right in front of me, holding me in her embrace with...admittedly not a lot of clothes on. A bra, panties...that was pretty much it. I blinked a few times, taking this in before she slowly woke up.

"Guess meat bag wasn't such a bad name" She commented, opening her eyes and looking at me. "And saying that your very comfortable" I blushed, looking away.

"Revy..." I started. She took her arms away from me, both of us sitting up at the same time.

"Been a while since I had company" She continued, looking away and grabbing a cigarette from the table. "Makes me glad we got assistance from the Militia now" I shook my head, now feeling my cheeks burning up.

"You keep this up and I'm going to faint from embarrassment" She chuckled, standing up and walking over to her clothes, I followed her example, then hearing a knock at the 'door'.

"Come in" Revy called. I looked at her, my eyes open wide as we were both getting dressed. It was light enough to see...thankfully, but still dark. The door swung open slowly, whoever it was just standing there.

"Miss Moonbeam" Isara spoke, slowly walking in. I did my best to ignore her, getting on my pseudo stealth gear, putting on the jeans first. "Squad 7 will take some time to get ready. We will be ready to go in an hour or two" I saw Revy turn to her, still smoking the Cigar as she pulled up her ripped jeans.

"Good, that gives me and shorty here some time" I'm taller then you thank you very much. Isara looked between me and Revy.

"Are you two...planning something?" She looked like she was blushing as I started getting my shirt on.

"Revy wants me for a raid on the enemy lines" I explained, grabbing the leather jacket and throwing it on. "Should be back in time for the attack" Revy grabbed her Cutlasses, putting them into the holsters on her jeans before throwing her shirt on. "Just make sure Welkin doesn't go off on one of his nature walks" Isara nodded as I turned back to her, grabbing a Valkyrur and putting that into the holster in my Jacket's inside.

"...sure..." She was obviously a bit...distracted at this moment in time...wait. She wasn't thinking that we... "I'll leave you to your work then. Good luck you two" She quickly closed the door, and I could hear her footsteps as she ran away from the hut, Revy chuckling as she grabbed her knife.

"Something tells me we left an impression on her" She commented. I grabbed my knife, flipping it around in my hand.

"Well, that's going to be something to talk to the squad about later" I grabbed my Mags, keeping my hands away from the trigger. "Come on...let's go before it gets light out" Revy smiled, leading the way for us.

We left the hut door open, Revy obviously not concerned about whether or not this place was found or not, and our path went through the centre of the 'village'. One of the resistance fighters started walking alongside us, talking to Revy about the plan.

"When the battle starts, I want all of our men ready to escort the civilians to safety" Revy told him, getting a nod in return. "And take that SMG off the kid. That needs to go to his squad for later" He nodded again, grabbing the gun, almost yanking my arm off before I let it go, then running off. "Let's get this party going, eh Gespenst?"

"Any time Zweihandier" I replied. I grabbed my pistol, holding my knife in my off hand as we left the area.

"Try not to show me up"

"If you think you can keep up" She looked down, laughing and blushing.

It was a dense fog when we actually got to the road, barely able to see beyond your hand. Revy was keeping in the treeline, walking slowly along as I followed her. We both kept scanning around, keeping an eye out for any patrol of any kind. It took us a while (remind me to get a watch) to get to the lake side. I could barely make out the mountain the base was supposed to be under in the distance. Revy stopped me at this point, grabbing a pair of binoculars and looking down the road.

"The outpost is over there" She commented, adjusting the magnification. "We've got...2...maybe 3 enemy soldiers" I raised an eyebrow as she said this.

"That doesn't sound right" She passed me the binoculars as I crouched down, and I brought them up to my face.

Let's see what we have here...the dirt road is flanked by two sets of wire fences with concrete bases. There's a building on the right...most likely a place where they could sit down and rest. 2 riflemen patrolled around the front, taking a pattern that went from left to right and right to left respectively. Taking one down would alert the second definitely.

The thing that was most intriguing was the presence of a very large piece of kit. An anti-tank gun...there was a Lancer behind it, keeping an eye out on the horizon. I saw a second lancer peek up from behind it, shaking my head as I kept looking around, seeing an alarm system...if you can't really see it, it's basically a tower with a button on the bottom that functions like a switch, leading to a siren of sorts at the top of the tower. I gritted my teeth, realising what we had to do.

"I can see four" I told Revy. She spat on the ground. "Two Scouts...Two lancers...the lancers behind the AT gun"

"Ter-fucking-riffic" She replied. I sighed.

"It gets better. You see that alarm?" I gave her the binoculars back, watching her looking around again. "We need that sabotaged before we can make sure that the main imperial force doesn't hear us"

"From this distance, I wouldn't be surprised the enemy wouldn't hear our bullets" She spun the dial for magnification once more, raising an eyebrow before lowering them. "It's too light?" I raised an eyebrow back.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there should be more of them" She put the Binoculars on her jeans before grabbing her pistol. "Last time we raided this base, there were at least eight of them. You'd a thought they would increase security"

"Or they are trying something else" I didn't want to think what else it could be, shaking my head. "Well, first things first. We need to take down the guard here and sabotage the AT gun. We can't let them set off the alarm" Revy nodded to me, grabbing her pistols and spinning them in her hands.

"Might be the one time we go in all guns blazing" I grabbed my Valkyrur, smiling as I charged the clip.

"Try not to leave a mess" I told her.

She nodded, both of us splitting up but sticking in the tree line. I started crawling through the grass, doing my best to keep quiet as I got closer. Revy was...I suppose crouch running if that makes sense around the line of the lake, keeping an eye on where the first scout was looking. He turned at the wrong time, both me and Revy moving as he looked. We both stopped, my breath baited as I saw him looking at where I was.

Oh god, please, don't let him have seen me. He lifted up his rifle, aiming down the sight in my area, scanning around a bit. I turned my eyes, seeing Revy aiming one of her pistols at the guy, ready to fire. I held my breath, hoping he didn't see the condensation in the air. I gritted my teeth, my grip adjusting on my knife and pistol.

He lowered his rifle, turning around and pacing once more. I breathed a sigh of relief, looking to Revy and motioning for her to keep going. She nodded, moving slowly along the grass as I did the same.

Let's see...right now our best bet is to take out the scouts. Then we can dodge the lance shots if they manage to even try to. We don't know what's in the building, so...is it worth taking the risk. Revy got to a spot behind the fence, now prone and hidden behind it barely. We wouldn't have much time if we acted now.

I charged the clip once more, taking one last breath before lining the shot up. I braced for the shot, looking at Revy and nodding to her. This couldn't have been more then a few feet. The kill was practically a certainty.

I pulled the trigger, the first bullet flying at the target. I heard a small metallic ping, the soldier moving his hand to his helmet. I gasped, shaking my head.

"Fuck it went high" I cursed. He started running, the others all becoming alert. "REVY!" She jumped up quickly, firing a swift bullet into the chest of a soldier about to activate the alarm. I scrambled up, diving behind a tree just as a shot came flying, the earth I was just on flew up. Jeez these guys were good.

I swung out quickly, aiming the next shot as quick as I could, seeing the Lancers trying to rotate the AT Gun towards me. I saw a scout aiming at me as well, choosing to aim at him, firing off a quick pair of shots, both of them making contact with his arms, forcing his aim up as the gun fired. I fired of a quick extra shot, the bullet flying and hitting his gun. Son of a bitch. I heard a door open, seeing a soldier armed with an SMG coming out of the house, then getting shot in the skull by Revy. Perfect shooting. I dived behind the tree once more, breathing as the gunfire started once more.

Suddenly, the tree behind me shattered into two pieces, splinters flying all around the place as the top of the tree fell down next to me. I dived down, realising what had happened, shaking my head as I tried to recover. I looked over to the AT gun, seeing the crew loading a new shell.

Fuck, they meant business. If that had hit me anywhere I'd looking at a whole other person...through the hole. I swung my arm up over the log, hearing a full mag of rifle fire, seeing shards of the tree flying around my hand. I lifted my head up, aiming quickly at the scout as he scrambled for cover, my arm straining under the recoil as I finally got him with an extra three shots. I watched him fall to the ground, smiling as I released the clip, swinging my pistol out to throw it to one side. I somehow managed to bring my hand down in time to avoid a bout of rifle fire, grabbing a new clip and shoving it in, charging the clip before the log cover was blown up by AT fire, shards of bark flying into my face. If it wasn't for the fact that gun couldn't aim low enough to hit me where I was...I don't want to think about it, but I'm a lucky bastard right now. I heard a cry after some gunfire, along with a curse.

"Revy! You doing all right!?" I yelled.

"Fucking bastards!" She yelled back. I jumped up, quickly aiming towards the AT gun and firing a few rounds off. The crew took cover behind the gun, the bullets ricocheting off the front as the lancers began trying to run. "Bullseye!" Revy called, firing off a pair of shots, the lancers hitting the ground in an almost rag doll fashion. We both looked around the area, making sure the enemy had been finished off. "Clear enough for me"

"Clear" I jumped up, heading in with my pistol ready, just in case. Revy released her clips, swinging her pistols down to remove them before slamming them onto new clips on her waist. "You OK?" She moved a hand to her shoulder, gritting her teeth.

"Took a bullet from the Lancers...they had pistols" She put a Cutlass away, grabbing her knife and digging the bullet out. "Son of a bitch" I put a hand on her shoulder, getting a grunt in return. "Meatbag, I'm fine. I don't need your bloody sympathy right now" I took my hand off, sighing. "'Sides, you look a mess yourself" I wiped a hand over my face, finding traces of blood.

"Sorry Zwei" She shook her head, looking over to the main building.

"Think they have any spare Imperial uniforms?" I looked over as well, nodding.

"Only one way to find out" I told her, then smiling. "If there are you might need to...flatten your chest a bit" She gave me a sideways glare.

"Well excuse me for having a big chest...you didn't complain when we woke up" I could feel my face blushing.

Not my fault. They were comfortable.

_That fight we had was one of the scariest things._

_Facing down an AT gun in a set defensive position...well..._

_but...we made it...and the way was practically clear for us to get into the base_

_maybe we'd find some intel or even manage to do a bit of sabotage._

* * *

So...yeah. Gonna do maybe one more chapter of this before the operation actually starts. Not going to be too much but still.

Oh, and I get that there are no AT guns on this stage in game, but...well, it was something to add to the mix. Besides, the Imperials want to hold it, and I'm pretty sure Lances are the Equivalent of Bazookas/Panzershreks.

By the way, I'm not going to have Craig and Revy fight off an Imperial battalion on their own. That's just silly...right now anyway. 'Whistles merrily'

….yeah, cause asterisks make the text do **this** I'm having to do 'this' lol.

So, next time, probably the first proper stealth section without members of Squad 7...wow, can't actually believe it's happening.

Erm, by the way. I know I said that it's meant to be still the story of VC with the whole...Expeditionaries thing tagged on, but...well, is it going too far? I don't want to be doing this and it kinda...I suppose makes either me or any new character seem like the hero, or indeed makes the story of VC itself kinda redundant if that makes sense.


	44. Cutting the Chain

Here I come to update the day!

oh...and I kinda went nuts here...at the time of writing this line (which I came to do in the middle of the chapter) I'm on page 7. O_O

I can see a point where I might be able to cut this in two instead of one, but still, I think it works both ways. Meh, who knows. Here's chapter 44. (btw, I think I lost my voice over the past two days. Oddly the voice I have left is what I imagine a future character to be lol)

Chapter 44:

Cutting the Chain.

_Working with Revy was actually kinda fun, even in the hell of battle._

_She was unrestrained, adrenaline fuelled...just her._

_She was used to all the madness of war considering her role._

_Everything...I wasn't...but what I needed to be_

"You know, it's a near miracle" I spoke, my back turned to Revy as we got changed. We had managed to find a pair of uniforms and, through a bit of a struggle, managed to get Revy's breasts to go flat enough so that she could pass as a guy. (though she thought I was just making an excuse to feel her up, we found some medical supplies including bandages and...well, two plus two. It's odd as she looked like she was enjoying it)

"What is?" Revy asked in return as she finished throwing the armour on, turning to face my back. I secured the last strap on the boot, standing up and cracking my neck.

"That everything I brought here fits under this" Revy chuckled, grabbing a helmet and slamming it over my head.

"Come on metal head" well, it's an improvement... I think as I rub my helmet. "We've got a job to do" I nodded, lowering the visor as I did my best to hide my Valkyrur in the armour, Revy doing the same with her Cutlasses. She grabbed her helmet, putting it on and lowering the visor.

"Got any TNT?" I asked her, lowering mine. She smiled, grabbing some from a convenient cupboard attached to the wall.

"Got three sticks" She threw two to me. "Chances are I can handle the guns outside with one" I looked it over, nodding a few times. It was one of those light the fuse type ones, I knew that much. They all had a different code on them.

"You got the detonators?" She held two up, passing them to me, they had the same code on them. "Well, that works"

"Whatever we do...we need to make it count" She started heading for the door, opening it for me. "Make sure to grab a gun before we go in" I nodded.

"You take a rifle, I'll take the SMG"

"Greedy..."

"Says the girl who took most of the bed" I didn't have to see through the helmet to tell she was blushing.

We left the checkpoint building, Revy running over to the AT gun as I made my way over to the dead Shocktrooper, grabbing the gun and mags off him. Let's see...the Irons are better...Gun feels heavier in general...barrel is shorter but the gun is longer.. It was metallic black so I presume it's mostly machined. I tried the bolt, finding it easier, but needing to go further.

I walked along with it, heading to the dead scout and grabbing the unmarked rifle, grabbing the mags as the same time as Revy returned, passing the gun to her. She put the detonator down her front, leaving enough room to grab it under all of this crap.

Let me just explain right now, this stuff is proper armour, not the stuff the Gallian army have. I know I related this to the armour knights had and I was pretty much right. We were wearing a white set of armour, all of it wearing enough to strangle a horse. I had barely moved around in it and felt like I was going to keel over from exhaustion. Maybe it was why the Imperials were supposed to be better then us. Who really knows? Revy looked over her rifle, nodding as she fiddled with it.

"Imperial Army Zechmeister rifle, ZM corps ZM Kar" She spoke to herself, making sure everything was in line. "Hey, they've improved the weight" I raised an eyebrow, Revy turning to me. "Looks like you've got Zeckmeister's Masterpiece, the ZM MP" MP? Is this meant to be this worlds MP 40? "It's half the reason the Imperials have the advantage over the Federation at this moment in time. Portable, Accurate, good rate of fire. The ones we stole a while back really helped us out" Wow, guess that's going to be a godsend. "But...enough about the gun...think we can blend in?" I grabbed a radio off the scout, Revy wearing hers on her chest.

"As long as we don't act out of character" I told her. I heard a high pitched noise on the radio, raising my eyebrows.

"Supply base to 1st Garrison, come in" Came a voice on the radio. I looked at Revy, seeing her shrug. Well, guess there's a time to improvise.

"This is 1st Garrison. Go ahead" I replied, sighing after letting the button go.

"We heard gunfire? What's your status, over?" I shook my head, my mouth hanging open as I tried to think of an excuse.

"Just some target practise base. Some of the guys here were getting antsy. Over?" Revy held her head in her palm at this point. That excuse was so poor it was almost illegal.

"Checkpoint, you should know better. Almost gave the commander a scare" Commander eh? "New orders. We need two of your men to come back here. We're packing up the supplies and sending them to the front line. Over"

"Roger that. I'll send my best. Over and out" I breathed a sigh of relief, Revy fanning herself with her hand. "Think they bought it?" She shrugged.

"Apparently...we'll know if they haven't soon enough"

"1st Garrison, come in" same voice as before.

"1st garrison here. Go ahead" Oh god oh god oh god oh god.

"Commander Jaeger is requesting that you 'get your backside into gear' as he intends to move these supplies out as quickly as possible" I looked at Revy, raising an eyebrow.

"Jaeger?" I asked.

"Radi Jaeger...he's a brilliant commander in the Triumviri under Maximilian. He used to serve in the Fhirald Military but that fell to the Empire during EW1" She explained, lifting up the mask plate to spit on the ground. "If he's here we're going to have some fun" I shook my head, getting back on the radio.

"Copy that. We'll move out double time" I told him, lifting my rifle up. "Over and out" I took my hand away once more, looking at Revy and sighing. "Wait for it"

"That's it this time" She remarked, now holding her rifle steady. "Let's make a move Metal head. Try to blend in"

"Guess it's time to see why Siegfried chose us...What's the range on the remotes by the way?" I asked as I got into character.

"From here to the refugee camp" Wow, that's actually quite far. "Thank the Imperials for that" I smiled, shaking my head. "Come on, we need to keep this going"

We left the garrison at that, both of us making sure we were ready to be Imperials for the day. So...we had to not attract attention, blend in...join the Imperials so to speak. Our armour

rattled with every step we took, clattering against the mags we carried, barely nudging the sticks of TNT down my back.

The path wasn't that long, heading along the Old Kloden Road with the mountain to our right. The air was thick with anticipation as we started to run, hoping that the radio op from earlier didn't expect us to be late. The fog was steadily clearing up as we finally came to the base, Imperial soldiers standing at the gates on guard duty, a pair of them, both saluting us as we went by them.

We didn't have a plan. I just had to find the perfect target to put the TNT on and then we could high tail it out of there. Revy would do what she did best...I didn't know what that was but still, I can improvise. I looked around, seeing three large buildings set around the place. I can presume two are your basic storage buildings, the third...no idea. Guess some kind of command structure?

"You two! Halt!" a calm voice commanded. I froze, standing to attention as Revy did the same. I didn't move, not wanting to do anything a proper soldier wouldn't. "Seems you've got your drilling right..." I heard footsteps to my right hearing towards us. "Keep that up and I will see you rewarded"

And that's when he came into view. Radi Jaeger I presumed. He was a tall man, with a middle aged look to his face. He had brown hair tied up in a pony tail, despite it's short length, and a bear covering his chin. His clothing was comprised of a modified Imperial General's outfit. Basically red with gold stripes going horizontally along the front, and a sort of...trench coat kinda thing. He wore black trousers and boots. His right arm had a black gauntlet on it, going up to his elbow, with his shoulder to elbow covered by a silver bulls head. On his right side was a sword sheath, oddly squared at the end, with the sabre inside.

"General Jaeger sir" I spoke, not moving otherwise. He paced up and down between us, looking us over, gauging us...was he suspicious?

"How goes the 1st garrison soldier?" He asked.

"Sir, it was secure when we left with no sign of the enemy" I replied. Jaeger nodded.

"Good...I want you two to help with the evacuation of supplies. We know the enemy is on their way" Revy and Myself both nodded. "I will be going to our base camp. If the enemy is indeed on their way, we are going to need the Lupus" The Lupus? "Until I can get my tank, if the enemy arrive, Your priorities are to get every shred of ammo and food out of here before the enemy break the line. Understood"

"Yes Sir"

"Dismissed"

He turned away, walking off into the distance. He seemed...oddly more relaxed then I thought a general would be. CERTAINLY better then Damon was. Why couldn't we have generals like him in the Gallian army? We'd win the war in a minute if we did. Revy elbowed my quickly before I turned to her, seeing her motion to the first building.

We quickly ran inside, checking it out before actually walking in. it was weapons storage, that was for sure. Enough crates of guns and ammo stacked to near enough the ceiling to equip an army...wait, that's what's it meant to do. Of course. Revy turned to me before doing anything.

"Keep an eye on the door. I'm going to try something" She told me. "If anyone comes in, gut em" I nodded, walking to the corner and leaning against it, letting Revy do her thing. I heard her scrambling around between the crates, hearing her mumbling various curses as she slid around. "Damn, the fuck...son of a...Here's the beauty" it hadn't taken her long, but she appeared from the many crates with a face like the mouse who stole the cheese, holding what I can only describe as a silver bar. "This is what the Imps are calling 'Magnisius explosive'" She explained, showing it off to me. "It's basically a block of TNT with a timer, that can be set to any length of time from a minute to an hour" I can see where this is going.

"So set it to half an hour and this place goes skyhigh" She nodded, spinning a dial on it.

"Not even the Valkyria will be able to save this place" She threw it behind her into the mess, I could tell she was smirking under that lot. "And there just so happens to be a crate of 'nades, which will accidentally be in the middle of an explosion. Just gotta hope no one hears the ticking"

I smiling, nodding as Revy grabbed her rifle, both of us getting ready to move out once more, walking over to the door before a soldier walked in. we both saluted, the soldier looking us over before leaving.

Really? Are we that good at this? Or are they that crap? I didn't know, but let's be honest, should I care? We walked out into the fog ridden base once more, looking between the buildings and deciding on the next target. There were two left, soldiers coming out of one were carrying bags of what I can only presume are food and drink, the other with a half track loading up with god knows how many kegs of fuel.

"Fuel or food?" I asked her. Revy did a bit of head shaking before answering.

"Fuel. An army can fight without food for longer then without tanks" She replied. Made sense to me.

We walked over to the half track, a soldier inside loading a barrel up with diesel. I looked around, seeing about three extra soldiers there, helping out. We'd stand out here too much if we did anything other then that...or...there was always plan B. I leaned in closer to Revy, a nice plan in my head.

"Keep the one closest to the half track away from me...I'm going to plant a stick on it...if it's still here when it goes off, this building's done for" I told her. She nodded, walking over to the soldier, doing her best to bulk herself up as the guy was trying to lift up the barrel.

"You need a hand there?" She asked, making her voice deeper as she dropped her rifle.

"Please" The soldier replied. Revy ran over, putting her hands under the barrel and helping him lift it into the back. Both of them breathing a sigh of relief as they succeeded. "Thanks there mate"

"Your welcome sunshine" She replied, grabbing the rifle and cracking her neck. "What's our check list like?"

"Got to get another 50 of them loaded up before we're ready to go. Gonna take at least 2 hours" Revy walked the other side of him, making him turn away from me. "Hell, you and silent type over there are lucky, just guarding the garrison"

"I'd rather be here getting the job done then sitting around the ground for ages" She sighed, shaking her head. "Heck, I'd rather be hit by the Gallians then standing around all day"

"I hear that" the soldier finally turned away, giving me time to arm the TNT. "So, you know someone in the Garrison called...Narrovok?"

"Name doesn't ring a bell"

"First name's Sullivan" Revy put a hand under her chin, thinking quickly.

"Sullivan...Sullivan...might be the air around here but it still doesn't ring a bell" He sighed defeatist as I finally got the TNT onto the half track, sticking it on the underside of the wheel arch. "Sorry sunshine"

"Eh, it's no problem, Just hoping he'd be able to reply about our poker game proposal tonight" I stood back up, motioning to Revy about leaving.

"I'll try and track him down later...keep it going mate" She patted the soldier on the back, getting one in return before we turned to leave.

We were right next to the door before I noticed Revy fumbling with her chest area, panic in her eyes...why was there a bulge in her che- oh dear.

"Hey mate...you dropped your..." The soldier from before spoke. We turned, seeing him holding the bandage that had held Revy's chest down, both of us exchange awkward glances, before anyone acted. "Your not..."

"Shortcut! Time to leave" I told Revy. We started charging out of the building, the group behind us shouting something as we left. "Mountain route?"

"Mountain route!" Revy shouted back. Revy led the way, heading out the back of the base. We managed to get past a wire fence before the call on the radio.

"All Units! Code Blue! Code Blue! Enemy in Allied Uniform! I repeat, Enemy in Allied Uniform!" Crap. We made our way as fast as we could towards the exit.

"How the hell do we tell who the enemy is if they are in allied uniform?" another one asked.

"It's the Garrison force markings. Someone get them on the line and make sure they aren't turning traitor. Someone Contact General Jaeger!"

"Well, looks like we've been made" I told Revy. She turned sharply to the right as she got past the fence, and I followed her lead. She threw her helmet down as we started up the mountain side, to which I did the same.

"Well no shit Sherlock? What ever the fuck gave you that idea?" She yelled. The enemy started firing at us, barely missing us as we started going up hill. "You still got that spare stick?"

"Hell the fuck yes!"

"We're going to need it!" I turned my aim, firing my mag at the enemy as they started chasing us, barely managing to make a hit as the fire rate surprised me with it's speed. Now I see why it's better then the MAGS. Revy fired off a few quick shots as I reloaded, another volley of fire coming at us as we passed a large cannon.

"Wait wait wait!" I yelled to her, sliding as I stopped behind it, grabbing a grenade off my waist and changing the timer to five seconds. Revy came back, unpinning a 'nade and throwing it.

"Whatever the fuck are you thinking!?" She shouted at me. I gritted my teeth as her 'nade exploded, opening the tube before putting the grenade inside, quickly pulling the cord off and closing the tube.

"Now leg it!" I shouted again. She got back up as I pulled the bolt, both of us scrambling away as a pair of shocktroopers came up behind us, shooting at us with everything they had, the bullets pinging off the armour, but shredding some of the plates. I smiled, turning back and waving to them as the Cannon exploded, taking them down along with ruining the gun itself. "That ought to help the Edelweiss"

I looked back at Revy, seeing her throw the ZM Kar down and starting to strip the armour off as she ran, taking the top off and throwing it off the side of the cliff. She had a point at the minute, we needed speed, not armour to get away. I turned my gun again, firing another burst at them as we rounded a corner. Please say we either escape, we lose them or we meet Squad 7.

Revy paused at the corner, stopping me and looking down. I looked down as well, then looking to my left, seeing how far the path went, stripping the top section of my armour off.

"Risk a run further along...or take a fall" I spoke, weighing up my options. Revy undid the majority of the lower portions of her armour, even the boots.

"Gespy, I suggest you undo all your armour" She told me, grabbing her Pistols and crouching next to a corner of the mountain side, aiming quickly and firing off a few quick shots, cries of pain erupting from them. I complied, undoing all the straps that kept my armour in place, but not taking it off.

"Why ever the hell are you telling me to do that?" I asked as I finished. She fired off the rest of her clips, releasing them and swinging them out, slamming the clips in again before charging the clips.

"Because Gespy, I'm going to show you a trick we learnt in the Resistance" She told me, standing up and firing an extra shot. "It's call 'Cheesing it'"

She kicked my left foot out from under me, then grabbing my chest and running forward over the edge, dragging me with her, bullets flying over our heads as we hit the slope. Imperials came to the edge of the cliff, firing their rifles down at us, the unstrapped armour flying off and somehow forcing the bullets to ricochet away.

We landed fairly well, both of us rolling as we hit the ground, the boot sections flying off, leaving just our normal footwear. We started running once more, Revy firing an extra few bursts as we made for the tree line. I unknotted my jacket from my waist, throwing it around myself and pushing my arms through the sleeves...well, I needed some sort of protection right now. I grabbed the SMG once more, spinning around and firing a few shots off as I backed up, Revy running by me.

"Where's the explosive!?" Revy yelled as I took cover behind a tree, breathing a bit as I looked around. The path was getting thinner, the ground was getting harder to travel across. I wouldn't be surprised we were heading into a ravine of sorts. The Tree line itself was getting worse.

"Rear Jeans pocket!" I yelled to her, coming back out of cover and firing another burst. She ran in behind me, shoving a hand into my Jeans and having a good feel around.

"It's not here!" She yelled into my ear.

"LEFT CHEEK!" She scrambled around once more as I emptied the mag, unable to move from the spot as she reached in again, grabbing the stick and smiling as I reloaded.

"Nice backside by the way" cheeky bugger. "Get the Detonators ready" She charged off, leaving me to catch up, firing at the enemy all the while. I heard some chatter on the radio about how we were heading into a dead end...that's what they think.

I turned away from the pursuers, running as fast as I could away, reaching into my pockets and getting the remotes. Revy disappeared into the fog, leaving me to try my best to follow the route. I heard a few curses and grunts up ahead, seeing the log line as I took cover behind a tree, seeing Revy trying to put the stick as deep as possible.

"Come on you fucker! Get in there and Fucking stay in there! I want an explosion!" Do I even need to make a joke about that? I shook my head, grabbing the mag and checking it...last 3 shots. Joy. I put the sling of the gun over my shoulder, letting the gun hang and grabbing my Valkyrur. "Gespy! BLOW IT!" I grabbed a detonator, clicking the switch...nothing happened. I looked at the detonator, clicking it again, getting the same result, then continually pressing the button. What the hell was going on?

"Command, One of our Oil dumps was just blown sky high!" I heard someone say on the radio. Oh, well that explains that. I threw the detonator to one side, grabbing the second one and pressing the button, watching the logs again as Revy took cover. Nothing again. "Command, Explosions at the 1st Garrison" REALLY? I threw it to one side, shaking my head.

"ZWEI! We need yours!" I yelled to her. She reached into her chest, pulling out the detonator as I fired a quick few shots into the mist, hearing a cry of pain. "ZWEI ANY TIME NOW WOULD BE NICE!" I heard a click, followed by an explosion, feeling splinters of wood fly against my jacket. "Let's get out of here Zw-"

I turned, seeing her with her back against a tree, her legs bleeding profusely. Fuck, I forgot she was only wearing ripped jeans. "ZWEI!" I fired off a few shots as I sidestepped to her, seeing her breathing heavily as she sat there.

"Fucking wood" She commented. I got behind the tree, crouching next to her. "Think I took one too many splinters and bullets there" She moved her arm, showing a myriad of wounds on her arm, going all the way along it, even embedding in her shoulder. I let my jaw drop, my eyes going wide. "Took a load more bullets then I thought at the Garrison...Guess I lived in hell too long eh? If I can't even make it out of this mess without messing up" I shook my head, closing my mouth.

"You're getting out of this. What made you think you weren't, you idiot?" I told her, putting my Valkyrur away and grabbing her Cutlasses, putting them into their holsters. She chuckled a bit.

"Gespy...what are you-" She was suddenly interrupted by me putting my arms around her, lifting her up Bridal style, getting an evil glare in return. "Gespy, put me the fuck down you moron!"

"Your not going down here!" I yelled at her, adjusting my grip on her to make sure I wouldn't drop her. "Now Zwei, I know you're good with those hands of yours, so get a good grip around my neck so that you don't fall"

Chances are I could have worded that better,...in fact from how I said it...you know what, no comment. But, either way, it had the right effect. Revy gave me a weak smile, doing her best to put her arms around me, even resting her head against my shoulder. I stood up fully, turning away from the imperials and running as fast as I could away from them, bullets barely missing me as I did so. I ran out into the mist, the radio still going off on Revy's chest.

I don't know how long I ran for, or indeed how far I ran. All I know is I had been running down the Old Kloden road past the lake from earlier. The sounds of gunfire started dying out behind me as they seemed to begin giving up pursuit. I heard chatter about how the defence force were talking about 'how the hell did we get in without anyone noticing'. I didn't really pay attention, too worried about the woman bleeding in my arms. It wasn't that bad a collection of wounds, she just had a lot of them, not to mention she must have been weak after so long on the front. After a while, I looked back, not seeing the lake any more.

"...Fucking Meat Bag" Revy finally spoke after who knows how long. I didn't look at her as we kept moving. "...you should've...left me"

"Let me tell you something I believe in to the death" I started, slowing down as I got partly worn out. "Leave No Man Behind" Revy shook her head at the edge of my vision, partly in disbelief as she clung to me with renewed strength.

"Fucking meat bag..." She commented again. Then came something I never thought would happen...again. She used her grip around my neck to pull herself closer, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Least your comfy...could almost fall asleep like this..."

"Well don't...I'd rather you keep talking" I heard the sound of a tank in the distance, smiling. "We're near allies now"

"Or a fucking Imperial Patrol" I gave her a small slap on the back as she said that, hearing a giggle in return. OK, now I'm getting freaked out by Revy's behaviour. I saw the Edelweiss and Squad 7 in the distance, smiling.

"Nope, it's definitely friendlies" I told her, grinning. Revy gave a groan of sorts as some of the squad appeared, pointing weapons towards us. "Yo! Friendly!" I got to make out who they were after getting closer. Alicia, Ramona and Ted. Couldn't blame them for aiming at me until they all lowered their guns. "Gonna need a medic here"

"Craig? What in the hell happened?" Ted asked. James and Catherine appeared in the background, seeing me carrying Revy. "Didn't know you treated all your dates like this"

"Not the ti- wait wha?" Did he just say- I shook my head. "Whatever, I need Fina. Revy needs a round" Fina came from behind the group, seeing Revy in my arms and running towards me, unstrapping the Ragnaid crate from her back. "I think she just needs a patch job"

"No problem" We set Revy down against a tree, Fina setting to work as I sighed. I heard one last thing from her before I walked away.

"...Gespy..." She spoke faintly. I shook my head, looking over to the squad.

"Well...our raid worked" I told them, sighing. "We should have some time to prepare before they can do anything...but they'll be scrambling to get out of there" Welkin walked up from behind the 'Weiss, shaking his head.

"That's good to hear" I could tell from his voice he had more he wanted to say...but considering all the snickering and talking I could see from the other squad members, I'm guessing something is going on. "What damage did the two of you manage to inflict?"

"1st Garrison was cleared, oil depot destroyed, Ammo storage rigged to blow, 2 AT guns down. Should give the Edelweiss and easier time" I took the SMG off my back, looking back to the guys. "So...can we fix her up and be ready to go soon?" Welkin nodded, turning away. Isara popped out of the tank to see what was going on. I looked at her, but didn't get a glance in return, only seeing her awkwardly turning away.

What in the hell did I miss?

_The raid had gone...Well, I guess. We'd achieved our objectives and managed to put the imps on the back foot._

_Revy was heavily injured, but with a mass of light wounds, so she was going to be fine._

_Hell, knowing her she'd be back on her feet within 10 minutes. Type of person she was._

_I just wondered what exactly I had missed during my jaunt away._

Yeah...it was going to be something quick. Whilst I'm going to be having these infiltration scenes involved, they aren't made to be the meat of the story. Either way, there we go.

So, the raid on Kloden is over, either next chapter or the chapter after is going to be the actual attack led by Squad 7. (to be honest, it would have been more certain, but someone gave me an idea ;) ) and...considering how Ragnaid works, I might have Revy up and ready to fight for that battle.

Oh, and I get that wood splinters flying into your skin wouldn't cause you to bleed as badly as I've made out, not to mention that 'I' have my fair share of wood related injuries (The one weakness of the aliens from Signs lol) hence why she has bullet wounds as well. Just...I don't know. In my head it works.

And something's telling me I should have done this in two chapters instead of one.


	45. Breathing Time

OK, it wasn't in the plan, but I'm tempted to put Revy as a potential love interest. Heck, so far it seems to work lol.

Anyway, I said I was going to do this...here we go.

Chapter 45:

Breathing time.

_Seeing as we had time before the enemy could organise anything, Welkin decided upon prepping for the assault_

_the enemy knew we were going to hit them after our raid, let's just hope they weren't bringing too much to the party._

_But, the most interesting things that concern you when your part of a squad like ours_

_are the conversations that can occur when your not around._

So...What exactly do you do after engaging in a semi-successful raid and reuniting with your squad, returning with an injured colleague, then having to rearm with your old gun, get ammo and loads of other things?

Why listen to your comrades talking of course. I was sat down with my new clips, nades, mags and just about everything else aside from the uniform replaced with fresh things, leaning against a tree with my eyes closed, trying to get a bit of rest. Fina was nearby, trying to get Revy up and ready for out attack. I heard some chuckling nearby, opening an eye and seeing how things were.

Welkin and Alicia were talking with one another in the background. Largo was with a sheer majority of the squad sharing a laugh and a joke here and there. Rosie was on her own leaning against another tree coincidentally near me, Vyse and Aika were in the background as well and Isara was...well, I don't really know. She was pacing here and there, deep in thought.

I sighed, leaning my head back and looking up, just trying to relax and catch some sort of breath after our stint on the front. They'd given me some ragnaid to heal up my small amount of wounds in comparison.

"Mirror" hmm? That sounded oddly like Rosie. "Tell me something...tell me who's the loneliest of all" I turned towards her, seeing her with her eyes closed, just thinking over the song lyrics. Oddly she had paused, as if she didn't know the next line or something. Alicia walked over to her, apparently swapping with Is.

"That was a beautiful, Rosie" She spoke. Rosie opened her eyes, looking over to Alicia.

"Hmm? Erm...thanks" She replied, looking away. "Used to sing it at this bar I used to work at...place where I got the nickname"

"Must have been a nice place" I commented. Rosie looked over, smiling.

"Place was a bit of a dive if I'm completely honest. The Barkeep was nice though" She blushed, playing with her hair. "People used to come from far and wide to listen to me sing...Heck, before I left the owner dedicated a good amount to improving the place for singers, and the girl who replaced me was supposed to be a good singer"

"What was the pub?" If she says what I think she's gonna say...

"I can't remember...some place in Randgriz, but I think it was given a new name after getting a new owner" OH THANK GOD! I hate the interconnectivity of things at times. It was bad enough that I had links to Lanseal, the Resistance and who knows what else. You know, right now I wouldn't even put it aside that, under the ...(was it)7 degrees of separation (?) rule, I had links to half of Gallia at least. If she had said the bar where I met Revy in the first place...you know, never mind. It hasn't happened.

"Maybe one day you can go back there and see what's become of it" I spoke again. She nodded at this point, smiling.

"Actually, there's something I've been meaning to ask you Craig, seeing as it's kind of old stories" Oh god why don't I like this? "What's with you and that Moonbeam girl?"

"Revy? Nothing, why?" Why the heck am I worried?

"Well, She seems to have taken a shine to you" OK, now the mass of the squad had decided to come over and join in. I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, The girl's been really friendly with you in comparison to the rest of the squad. Even the Boss" Ted decided to join in now. "Give 'em the old Appleby charm eh?"

"What are you guys on about?" I saw some of the grins on the males of the squad, thinking for a bit. A Friendly Revy compared to the rest of the squad...that didn't mean any-

Is this morning saw us near enough naked. I lowered my head, blushing.

"I-I didn't do any-" I stopped, there, shaking my head and looking away. Ted stepped forward, letting his gun hang and doing the old presentation hand motion...thing.

"Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner" He started. I looked around, still blushing. "One of the sons of the legends of EW1 and the leader of a Resistance faction" How in the hell am I meant to respond to that? "I guess Craig likes tough girls" Someone, save me. Please.

"Ted, d'ya mind?" Catherine spoke, stepping forward and pushing him away with the butt of her rifle gently. Oh thank god. "I'm sure if they are a couple they'd tell us all when they were ready"

That's not what I was looking for Catherine...nice try, but...that probably made things worse. I saw James in the background shaking his head, obviously not amused by this whole situation. The group started splitting up, still talking about the 'revelation' that apparently me and Revy were an item after one night...A revelation to all including me.

"What the- Hey! I think she's coming to!" I heard Fina call. I turned, seeing Revy slowly starting to move. I slowly pushed myself up, heading over to the pair, Welkin, Alicia and James following me quickly.

"Took her long enough" I spoke, shaking my head. She slowly opened her eyes, looking at the four of us.

"Miss Moonbeam?" Fina spoke, Revy looking at her after she spoke, Fina holding up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" Revy did the ever so classy move of holding her hand out and giving her the finger. Fina recoiled a bit, I shook my head chuckling.

"She's alright" I told them. Fina took a tube out of her, quickly putting a plaster over it and throwing the Ragnaid crate over her back.

"Well, I guess she knows how to say thanks"

"Just the girl I am blondy" Revy commented. I held my hand out for her, letting her pull herself up. She was on her feet in no time, just swaying unsteadily once before letting me go. "So...what the hell did I miss?"

"Your group retreating" Alicia told her. Revy smiled at this point. "They were supposed to be supporting our assault, not leaving us to fight this alone"

"I gave 'em the order to get the refugees who can't fight back to Randgriz. Thought it'd be better sending the 50 back instead of having 24 unsteady shots fighting with us" Alicia sighed.

"If you had just told us..." Welkin sighed, putting a hand on his hat.

"Miss Moonbeam, if you had let us know, we could have planned accordingly for the retreat of the resistance group" Revy shrugged.

"Not gonna apologise for what I felt best...besides, I've got the feeling you'll get this dealt with even without the Dead helping you out" She stretched herself off, getting a bit of space as she did so. "So, Nature boy. You got any clever tactics we could employ?" OK, step too far. Welkin choose to ignore it, turning around and walking.

"We were just discussing it...as I think I've found a way around..." He commented. Alicia quickly waved her hand around, as if she had touched something she didn't want to.

"Yeah, something about animal droppings led the way" Ted spoke, getting a chuckle from some of the guys. Well, guess that's a tale for another time.

Welkin led us to one side just away from the Edelweiss, stopping near a load of tall grass and pointing to it. I raised an eyebrow, hanging behind Revy as we both looked down it. It...didn't look like much...just a grassy route. I shook my head.

"THIS is what you came up with Welkin?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at him. He smiled.

"That's almost what the others came up with" He commented, then moving a hand to his chin. "Animals have a natural instinct of finding the most efficient route, Eating plants, grass...anything in order to get through" I saw where this was going.

"An animal trail?" Revy asked. Welkin nodding. "Davros was on about using them during our raids, but...well, he bit it too early to point them out to us"

"Good thing we're with the-" I started.

We all heard a rustle in the grass, Revy and myself getting our guns ready. Something was there...Alicia and Rosie came over as well, both armed, both having heard it. We kept looking, trying to find it, but still hearing the rustle.

"Well someone's gotta go check" I spoke, looking between the girls. "Not doing it this time"

"Just finished healing" Revy spoke. We looked at Rosie and Alicia, seeing the pair quickly doing a game of Rock Paper Scissors in order to decide it.

I didn't even have to see it to tell that Alicia lost, hearing sigh as she grabbed her weapon again. She moved slowly into the grass, staying low as she advanced, heading towards the rustle. I went close behind her, making sure that she was supported, even though Revy might have been a better choice. Alicia got right next to the centre of the noise, pulling the bolt on her rifle. The rustling charged at her, knocking her over into the grass. She made a weird noise...and then an...oink?

"Erm...Welkin?" She just appeared, her head coming up before anything else. "Hey little guy"

"Alicia..." I started, before she started standing up, her rifle hanging from it's strap as she held...something. I couldn't make it out, only holding my gun ready to fire. "What's wrong?" Oink!

"Hey little guy"

She turned around holding what looked like a piglet in her arms, the creature looking quite sombre...for a pig. Alicia was holding it as best she could, giving us a good look at the beast. Definitely a piglet...but with...wings.

Yeah, that sounds weird. I'm the guy telling you it has wings and I think it's weird, but they aren't...wings so to speak. It looks more like a sort of mutation just to make it look like it has wings. No feathers or anything to make it look like it could fly in anyway, shape or form but...well, let's just say I'm not going to be using the phrase 'When pigs fly' at any point in the near future...for safety reasons of course.

"Is that...a Porcavian?" Revy asked. We both lowered our guns, hearing mumbled oink in response.

"It is..Porcavian pigs are uncommon, especially out here in Kloden" Welkin confirmed. Revy put her guns away.

"We used to rear some of them in Tanaba before the attack...from the looks of things...this ones a wild" Alicia lifted it a bit higher.

"Hey little guy...where's your mother, huh?" She was starting to sound like a mother. I started walking into the grass, going past Alicia after hearing it make some kind of noise in response. "Do you want to go home?" I saw a trail of blood the other side, pausing and grabbing my gun once more, slowly moving forward and around the corner.

Wish I hadn't. As I got closer I could smell...something was off. The blood was steadily pooling, as if it's owner was slowing down. It was about a second before I actually saw it. A large boar...another Porcavian...with a bullet wound in it's chest. I lowered my rifle, sighing.

"Welkin" I spoke, turning to him. He looked confused, walking over to me slowly before looking over to the body.

"That's...a female" He confirmed. "I would say it's the mother but..."

"Stray bullet" I commented, standing where the blood trail started and looking over towards where I knew the checkpoint had been. "From...our earlier op"

I couldn't help but feel so overwhelmingly guilty, looking down and away. Because myself and Revy had fought, there must have been numerous tiny casualties. Because of our fight, that Porcavian had no family any more. Welkin put his hand on my shoulder, and giving me a reassuring look as I turned to him.

"You've been affected by the war...haven't you little guy" Alicia spoke. It gave this weird...low pitched groan.

"Who hasn't these days" Revy chipped in, sighing. "Imps can't do anything if it don't involve taking innocents in the crossfire..." ….I'll ask her later, now isn't the time. Welkin took his hand off my shoulder, both of us turning to Alicia.

"Hey, Alicia...we'll take him with us" We all looked at him as if he had lost a brain cell...or in Revy's words as 'if he was out of his fucking mind'. Alicia perked up at this.

"Welkin, really?" Welkin nodded.

"Sure, we're the Militia right. Every Gallian has a right to join" ….That's one hell of a loophole. But considering the matter...I'm happy. The way Alicia lit up she agreed.

"You hear that buddy. Your an official member of Squad 7 now" I couldn't tell if it was happy or panicking, but the pig made another noise. I shook my head.

"So..." Revy asked, interjecting. "What's the plan with the Op?"

"We're splitting into teams once more. I want you to stick with me Miss Moonbeam...Craig, your going with the team on this side. We'll take their attention, you sneak around and take them down" Well that was easy. I smiled.

"Been there once boss. A second times going to be a breeze" I spoke.

Me and my big mouth at times.

_A Porcavian piglet joining the Milita...well I've heard Crazier ideas._

_A world hopping 16 year old soldier and his brother. That's definitely harder to believe._

_But he was something I guess. A mascot at the very least. A messenger at the most._

_I just had to make sure I was ready. We had a battle to fight._

Yeah, Two in one. Sorry but I couldn't think of a way to actually have the pair of events in two separate chapters without having one being short involving the Kloden Op.

So, with that. Next Chapter will be the attack on the Kloden Supply base.


End file.
